I'm the White and You're the Fang
by Commander Eggnog
Summary: If Weiss went to Blake in Menagerie instead at the end of Volume 4 to restore the Schnee family name and get back at her father. Rated T for swearing, violence, and handling of adult themes. Complete.
1. Taking Control

**-Chapter 1: Taking Control-**

"WEISS!?" Jacques paid a visit to his daughter's room after a heated meeting with General Ironwood. He found an empty room, immensely cold from the air pouring in from the broken window. The bed, nightstand, and dresser were pushed away from order, leaving open space in the room's upper section.

Incoherent darts of words came at random as he searched for something that made sense. "You! When… I! Klein… Did?! Child!"

On Weiss' pillow, she left her scroll behind. Under his orders, the scroll had no lock function, so when he opened it, a video of his daughter began to play.

"Hello, Father. And for that matter, goodbye. By now, you know I'm no longer at home. Thank you for giving me my freedom. When you fetched for me after Beacon's fall, you did so to keep your legacy intact. A few weeks ago, you revoked my status as heiress to once again keep your legacy under your control.

"When you brought me to Atlas, the only thing keeping me was my heiress-ship. I did everything I could to keep status, hoping one day I could turn the company into something of my own. That is no longer possible.

"Now that I am no longer beholden to your company, I can forge a path to fix your wrongs sooner. To do that, I don't need your business. I don't need your money. I don't need you, and I certainly don't need your name. I have my own. That's all I need. Schnee always sounded better than Gelé.

"Your time as head has made Remnant a worse place. I don't need your ' _charity_ ' events to prove that. Your treatment of other businesses and Faunus have proven you unfit for power, but nobody is around to keep you checked.

"During my time at Beacon, which I know you resent, I slept every night in the same room as the daughter of the White Fang's former leader. Among the other two of my team, I have grown into a much more functional family with her than I ever did with you.

"I take full fall for my actions this morning. There were no accomplices or accessories to my departure. If you want to punish _me_ for what _I_ did, meet me in Menagerie. While there, I will work to restore the Schnee name with those who have been hurt most by it. It is also the center of White Fang activity, but since I am no longer a Schnee, I have nothing to worry about.

"If you choose to follow me, I am sure the public will protect me. You cannot force your will over them there, though. Don't forget that Ironwood is on my side. He won't do your bidding. Unfortunately, despite this, he refuses under military confidentiality to tell me where Winter is.

"You have made many mistakes in raising me and Winter. Most notably, you do not share our powers to bring back around what comes our way. I have left behind an example of this. Hopefully, it lets you know not to test me any further.

"I look forward to the future. Your daughter, Weiss Schnee."

The father looked to the room's corner. Where normally stood a suit of iron armor, it was instead in its summoned form. Upon being noticed, it turned its head to him, took a fighting stance, and disintegrated.

Jacques stormed out of the room and called for Klein.

* * *

Weiss disembarked from an Atlesian airship in a place very unfamiliar with seeing them.

* _Lift_ * _*SLAM*_

Thirty seconds passed. The door opened. Before Weiss stood a tower of a man. "Hello, sir. My name is Weiss Schnee. Is this the Belladonna residence?"


	2. Tea Time

**-Chapter 2: Tea Time-**

"Is this the Belladonna residence?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, it is. I am Ghira Belladonna. It is a pleasure to see my daughter's friend, but I must ask, what brings the Schnee family to Menagerie?" Ghira asked. He was easily twice her size. Her father is scrawny and still intimidates her, so Ghira doesn't have to do much.

"N-not the family, sir. Yesterday, I was… frankly disowned in a way. My actions caused my father to see me as unfit for…"

"Weiss… what? How?" Blake Belladonna stood at the far end of the hall. Shock and happiness have an odd mix in facial expressions.

"Hello, Blake. It's a pleasure to see a friend… family again, and I haven't seen your ears in so long. It must be great for you to be at home again." Blake walked over to give a quick hug. She nodded.

Ghira continued, "Please, come in. Whatever brings you here can be had over tea."

As they walked in, Weiss turned to Blake. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Haha… no. Sorry."

"He-hey, it's the ice queen!" Weiss rolled her eyes at the familiar line and familiar face.

"Hello, Sun." Weiss shot a confused look at Blake. Quietly, she said, "Did he… follow you home, or…?" He really did act with a monkey's antics.

Blake rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Yes, that's… basically it."

Ghira hurried to a door and told someone to bring tea and several cups.

Sun Wukong attempted more words, but Weiss interrupted "Save it. I'll have to explain a lot soon. I'll get around to it before you even ask. Blake, I love your home."

"Really? You must live in a mansion, how could you-"

Sun interrupted Blake, "And is this not a mansion?"

Blake pursed her lips and shrugged. "Good point."

Weiss continued, "No, the wood, the warm colors. Truly. I'm tired of white marble and blue rugs. It's all I ever saw until I was a teenager. This is refreshing."

They got to the dining room, a circular room with nothing more than a low sitting table and sitting mats.

"Please, sit." Blake said.

Weiss, Blake, and Sun sat across from each other. A door opened, and Ghira walked in followed by the woman Blake got her ears from. After seeing Weiss, the woman hurried to the table to set tea placements down.

"Oh, hello! Miss-" the cat faunus stumbled through her words at the unexpected guest.

"Weiss Schnee, please. Weiss is fine- perfect really. And your name, miss?"

"Thank you, dear. I'm Kali Belladonna. What brings you here?" The five were now seated at the table. Blake's parents sat directly across from Weiss. Even though this was the same way her father sat with her at dinner, the long table back home made it seem more daunting, as if a king sat directly addressing her at all times. Blake and Sun flanked Weiss' sides.

"It's… it's a long story. Thank you for your hospitality." Weiss folded her hands as she spoke.

"No, no, it's nothing," Kali said. "Where does the story begin?"

"I suppose," Weiss slowed for her thoughts. "As I was telling Mr.-"

"Please, call me Ghira."

"Honestly, sir, I'm so used to formalities, I'm sure by your status you are too. Should we drop them altogether or…?" Ghira nodded.

"I suppose this isn't a business meeting, so thank you." Weiss got back to her point, "As I was telling Ghira, a few weeks ago I was grossly chastised by my father for prior actions. We held a charity event to help restore Vale at my home. Before we auctioned, I pointed out to everyone that they were more or less clueless people who complained about their small problems while pretending to care for people in Vale with much bigger problems." The room sat in shock. "You don't- you don't know Atlas. I grew up surrounded by wealth. They needed to hear it, and at least General Ironwood agreed with me."

"Anyway, for doing that, my father revoked my status as heiress to his fortune and gave it to my younger brother, who is basically of the same mindset on everything as he is. I immediately knew it would take a lot more to save the company and that I could not do it in Atlas." Sun motioned as if to speak, but Blake denied him so, not wanting to interrupt a sort of meeting between her parents and Weiss.

Ghira inquired, "Would you describe your father as… everything my citizens would have said of him?"

Weiss thought, "As far as being Faunus, I would say that and more. I haven't seen any numbers, but as far as equal pay for Faunus labor, he claims so, but I highly doubt it. And the working conditions have not really ever been favorable in mines, but I would not be too surprised if they were treated worse. So anything your people have said of him is likely true, but as far as what I said about 'and more,' that is… my family situation." Kali's face filled with sorrow. Weiss continued, "But you, this is beautiful. This house."

"Oh no," Kali interrupted. "Please, dear, it's not so much."

"No, I'm being serious. This house, you both. It's so much more welcoming than giant marble pillars and spotless chandeliers. As much as the colors blue and white are tied to the family business, they don't look good lining every wall, floor, and ceiling. The long halls, giant rooms no one has been in for months… it's not so welcoming. But both of you on the other hand. You couldn't have given me tea any faster."

"Yet you haven't drank any yet," Sun butted in. The two RWBY girls darted their eyes at him.

Kali was about to ask why, but Weiss deflected it as nothing.

Kali looked at Blake, who smirked at Weiss' comment. Kali asked of Blake.

"She prefers coffee actually," Blake revealed.

Kali was shocked, thinking of her disrespect. "Oh, really? We don't have any but I will fetch some from the market tomorrow. It's only-"

"No, please." Weiss charged. "It's fine. Tea is fine, lovely actually. Sure, given the choice, I'd have coffee, but it's not-"

Blake couldn't help but laugh a little. "Weiss, you're not going to win this one. You may as well give up." She couldn't refrain from laughter as she spoke. "My mother is not going to back down from making guests feel welcomed."

Weiss blushed, her face with more color now than her hair. "Thank you, Mrs. Belladonna- … _Kali_. But you have no idea how wonderful you've already been to me. After the charity event, my father verbally abused me. He said, and I mean this, _'I don't give a damn about what you want.'_ My entire life, I've been nothing more than an asset to him, someone who will carry on his name as he glorifies himself. As soon as he knew that wouldn't be the case, he locked me away. Once I knew I was capable of a solid fight against him, I left on the first airship I could find. And the next day, I'm here. Sitting at a table, graciously provided a beverage, after Ghira would not let me stay at the door for more than ten seconds. You're already more of a family to me than he was."

Kali blinked away a tear at what she heard, and expressed, "Surely you have someone there for you."

Weiss took a breath and calmed. "Yes, Klein. He is the family's butler. He-" Ghira to put an arm around her. "He always does what he can. He knows my father is overbearing. He got me through it."

"Don't you have an older sister, though? Wi- what is her name?" Kali scrapped for decent parts of Weiss' life.

"Winter, yes. She found herself in my situation much earlier. She was why I was the heiress in the first place. She understood, so she took a rank under General Ironwood after she graduated Atlas Academy around seven years ago. I love her, but she's never around. I would have gone to her yesterday, but then Ironwood wouldn't tell me where she is. I think she must be off somewhere on some highly classified mission, then."

"You just _have_ access to the General?" Ghira pressed.

"I suppose, but it's not me. My father is always at him to make sure Ironwood does what he can to help the business. So yes, I found Ironwood, and he neglected that he couldn't tell me. He's on my side, but there must be something big Winter is working on if he cannot even tell me." Weiss looked to the side, in defeat from Ironwood's comments.

Blake and Sun looked to Ghira, as if they knew of a possible situation.

"That is why you are here instead of with your sister," Ghira concluded.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Now that you are here, how will you proceed?"

"Well," Weiss turned to Blake, "Blake told me she was a member of the White Fang at one point. I've known of their conflict with my family for so long, and I know she left. And I know this family's status in Menagerie, so I felt you would know how to help with my family's problem. I thought maybe doing something about the White Fang problem would fix it."

"Way ahead of you on that." Sun butted again.

Weiss was surprised. "What do you mean by that?"

"When I got back to Menagerie," Blake answered, "the White Fang caught up with me. We managed to retrieve a scroll from them, and… Adam… who I believe I've mentioned to you before, plans to gain control of the White Fang and use it to attack Mistral. He's the one responsible for what the White Fang has done in Vale, but elsewhere, the White Fang is different, less extreme… for now."

"I understand," Weiss said, "and how will you fix the problem? You don't have power in the White Fang anymore," she said as she looked at Ghira.

Ghira sighed, "As High Leader of the White Fang, I was ineffective. No matter what I could do, the will of the people here is violent. I had no choice but to step down. I lead the island now. It is much easier to keep peace among Faunus rather than the peace between Faunus and humans."

"And now that all of this is developing…?" Weiss asked.

"And now that this is developing," Blake said, "we are going to take it back."

Soon followed lighthearted conversations about childhood. Weiss got to see the rest of the house, but Blake managed to distract from any embarrassing childhood memorabilia despite Sun's efforts. Later than Blake's parents would stay up, she and Weiss sat in Blake's bedroom where they would share the night.

"So, why is Sun bandaged?" Weiss asked.

Blake tilted her head at the thought of friends being hurt from her sake. "A couple nights ago while he and I were on the balcony, arguing because… that's all we seem to do… a spy visited. That's when we got the scroll. We chased her, and she was… someone from my past. An old friend. We chased and fought, and he was wounded. Again."

"Again?" Weiss thought, "How much happened while I was gone?"

"Not," Blake teared up, "not him again." Weiss wrapped an arm around her. "A friend of mine was hurt, again. By the White Fang, again. When they came after me, again."

"You're saying then," Weiss ran through her thoughts, "well, Blake… This isn't on you."

"I know. I know. He made sure I knew. It's not about that anymore. It's just a little hard to get over."

"The White Fang is plaguing you, huh?" Weiss backed off of Blake and sat in front of her.

"I knew what they did to rogues when I left two years ago. I just thought that window passed for me. And I'm lucky I haven't been killed yet."

"That's where we come in then," Weiss assured.

"Huh? Weiss, why are you getting involved? This isn't your-"

"I'm a victim, remember?"

Blake remembered, but she didn't think so quickly. She was used to having problems nobody could relate to. "Yes. But that was your father, wasn't it? You were _his_ victim."

"We are both victims of the White Fang, Blake. We both have had people around us lost in some way at their hands. You're a Faunus, and I'm a human. That's why this will work."

"The CCT is down though. People still think you're the heiress."

"Yes," Weiss considered, "but… it also means my father hasn't publicly destroyed my reputation yet. At least not outside of Atlas at this rate. I can create my own image, and my father's PR team can't shame me all the way out in Menagerie."

"It's not like your reputation was good here when you were an heiress either. I do see something now though," Blake said.

"See what?"

"My father didn't fail as a leader. The people failed him. I've known that, but… things are different now. Eighty years ago, when the war ended, people were more racist. The way I saw it in Vale, the people were for social equality, but they had no route for it. Nobody wanted to lead. They had the White Fang before, but they turned violent. If we take it back, we're giving people the route to come together." Blake smiled at her newfound wisdom, revealing the catlike shape to her lips.

"Exactly," Weiss said. "That's why I'm here. It's like this: I'm the _white_ , and you're the _fang_."

"Together."

"Together."

They smiled, as family, feeling reaffirmed they would get this right.

"I also had a different thought," Weiss said.

"Yeah?"

"How much do people here use the desert?"

"We can't because of the wildlife. Some people hunt the animals for food, but they're highly specialized and have heavy equipment. It's also used for a few farms and ranches though. Why do you ask?" Blake said.

"What if we started a new Dust company?"

"Weiss…" Blake felt it impossible.

"I'm being serious. The SDC never touched Menagerie for resources, not even when my grandfather owned it. If we find Dust here, it's all ours. Even though many of the mines are starting to lose their profit, my father would never come to this island."

"But… how would we fund that?" Blake wondered.

"My grandfather didn't have much when he started. I'm certainly out of money though, so I can't do much."

"It's something to think about. I admire it. I hope we can, but that's something for later," Blake said.

"For now, Uuuuuhhhhhhaaaa," Weiss interrupted herself with a yawn.

"For now, uuuwwwhhhaaat?" Blake joked.

"For now, we go to bed. Clearly, I need it," Weiss said as she went in for a hug. "Thank you," she said as she hugged tighter. "You really are family."

"Don't say that…" Blake worried.

"Why not?" As bad as that made Weiss feel, an explanation was more important to her.

"I... agree, and... I do thank you for saying that," Blake said as she pulled out of the hug. "But even though the White Fang is mostly in Mistral right now setting up, they had to have left some people behind. They still hate you, you know. Even though it's mostly your name, they can't get solid proof from your father that you aren't the heiress. And even if you weren't, it wouldn't stop everyone from wanting to kill you by your name. I don't want to lose any friends, and I know it will come to that. They're already plotting against me. And Sun and Yang..."

Blake began to tear up. Weiss hugged her again, and this time rubbed her back. "We'll choose to be there for each other. At some point, we can be there for Yang too. I guess we have Sun to look out for us as well, but sometimes he's just hot and useless. We can make it work."

"So, how are we going to make _this_ work?" Blake calmed herself and repeated Weiss as she gestured to the one bed in the room, queen sized.

Weiss smirked, "We keep our boundaries, unless I don't think either of us will volunteer for the floor."

"If Sun weren't here, you could take the guest room," Blake suggested.

"What, are you suggesting I kick him out?"

"Well, that would be funny, no? He could manage outside," Blake considered. They laughed in agreement.

"Yes, he could," Weiss tried to calm her laughter down, "but I'm fine with this."

"We can make this work," Blake agreed. The two climbed into bed. "Tomorrow, we're off to Haven. Goodnight, Weiss."

"Goodnight, Blake _."_

* * *

"You need to control yourself," General Ironwood said in the father Schnee's office.

"You're talking to me about control? Do you even hear what you're saying?"

"I am basing everything on my report from _your_ daughter."

"A daughter you stole!" Jacques only had his son left at home.

"Oh, we are not getting into that again."

"Oh, yes, we have far more pressing to discuss, starting with your apparent lunacy!"

"Jacques! Winter is one of my best. If she's telling me there's a threat in Mistral, then I am not going to take that news lightly. She's been there for weeks. People are mobilizing, sudden spikes in weapons and Dust trades. Someone is about to make a play and I do not trust _Leo_ to stop them."

"You've never trusted anyone other than yourself."

"And for GOOD REASON," Jacques earned a hole in his desk. "If Oz had just listened to me from the start…"

"You need… to get a grip."

"That's exactly what I'm doing. Our people need protection. By this time next week, the Kingdom of Atlas will be officially closing its borders. No one in, no one out, without the council's permission."

"No," Jacques said, deadpanned.

"What? What do you mean no?"

"I mean you are going to give me free range of motion."

Ironwood stood up straight and said, "I am not obligated to do anything for you. You seem to be forgetting that."

"As a trusted friend and ally to this family, you will. You will let me fetch my daughter," Jacques played.

"What could you possibly need with Winter?"

"Nothing of her. The other one recently broke out of her room."

"You're kidding," Ironwood thought Weiss would never do that.

"James, she did, and she went to Menagerie."

"Stop lying to me and tell me what this is about, Jacques."

The two made their way across corridors to Weiss' bedroom.

"What is going on in this house these days…?" Ironwood asked himself as he saw the scene. If his right side could tense in disgust, it would have. "Does Klein know anything about this?"

"He said he was with Whitley when she left. He said he saw her summon the armor, and I have proof he checked to be sure she was still there a few times after. Whitley confirmed that he called for Klein, and Weiss left right then. This is all _her_." Ironwood noted the animosity building.

"Why did she go to Menagerie, Jacques?"

"Her teammate is _in league_ with the White Fang. She's most likely on her period and sought revenge when she was out of her damn mind." Jacques knew how to sound almost too posh to handle his own problem, even though he did care for his sake to return Weiss home. Ironwood could have sworn Ozpin interrogated Blake and got opposite results out of the Faunus.

"What, does Weiss want to kill herself?" Ironwood muttered to himself. With sarcasm, he said, "She's the _only_ thing _ever_ hurting the Schnee family name and its business."

"Exactly!" Jacques boasted, missing Ironwood's intent. "As a trusted friend and ally to this family, you will not bar me from leaving to fix the damage she'll do." Jacques tested.

"As the leader of the kingdom of Atlas, I will not influence one business' success over another."

"She isn't heiress anymore, General. These are strictly family matters."

"Is that what you said five seconds ago? Goodbye, Jacques."


	3. Small Windows, Small Worlds

**-Chapter 3: Small Windows, Small Worlds-**

As she awoke in Blake's room, Weiss found herself alone. After bringing little more than her combat items and spare clothing to Menagerie, Weiss threw on what she had and headed downstairs.

"Good morning, Weiss," Blake said as she spotted her through the dining room door.

"Good morning," she gave a small curtsy. Weiss sat down at the table. "Fish?"

Blake affirmed and said, "I'd tell you to get used to it if we weren't leaving today."

Weiss chuckled. "Where is Sun?"

"Sleeping. He's never woken up early the week we've been here. We just leave him be."

"Good morning, Weiss," Kali said as she entered from the kitchen. "How would you like your tuna seasoned?"

"It's been so long since I had any. So… however you would take it. Thank you, Kali." Weiss turned to Blake and said, "Do we know what time the boat leaves?"

"We still have a few hours, and the voyage should only be over one night." Blake took another bite and thought her words as she did. "What is Atlas like…? Other than cold and mountainous."

"That is a good question…" Weiss had an answer, but she knew it wasn't the right one. "The landscape is pretty when blizzards aren't making a fog, at least in the winter. It's very urban, much different from this. Sometimes it feels like a machine in itself."

"I knew that much, but I don't think I've ever seen you with a jacket."

"Well, I _owned_ one."

"Why say it like that?"

"I never wore it too much," Weiss clarified. "Most of my life was inside. If the family went out of the house, we never had to go outside. Buildings in Atlas use indoor parking to avoid the weather, so it can be dealt with."

"You're still missing the people, the culture," Blake pressed.

"I am missing that. The places we go and people we see, they're only truly associates of Father. Sure, I had fencing lessons and went to combat school before Beacon, but I didn't exactly make friends. All I know of is my father's posh business partners, and I know they can't represent all of Atlas."

"How are you… missing that?" Blake wanted to say something, but what came out was mostly a thought for herself.

Weiss got a little heated as she continued, "I said, I rarely got to go out, let alone socialize. My whole life, too much time I was left to my room. All I could get to see of Atlas was through my bedroom window. Sure, it's a large window, but it never showed me everything I wanted to see."

Kali returned to the table with a tray of Weiss' breakfast. "I hope my timing is alright. Are you okay, dear?"

It took Weiss a moment to realize the _'dear'_ was meant for her. "Oh- don't worry, ma'am. It reminds me of how different Menagerie is." A smile managed to appear on Weiss' lips.

"Certainly so," Kali said. She handed Weiss her breakfast. "If you need anything more, please ask." Kali knew she gave more than enough, however.

Weiss took a bite of her tuna. "I do love the flavor. Thank you! I'll let you know." Kali stood by and reciprocated the smile, hands behind her back. As Weiss kept eating, she didn't notice the Belladonna women watching for a reaction. As Weiss reached for her drink, it got halfway to her mouth before she noticed the substance inside. As she did so, Kali placed tiny glasses of powders on the table.

Weiss set her drink down, her hand reaching between the cup and the powders, not knowing which to stay on. She gave darting glances to the table, Blake, and the mother as she realized what was happening: _This was coffee._

The Belladonnas hearts warmed at the spasmodic actions Weiss displayed. Weiss tried to speak, but the first five syllables were muddled before landing on "I told you you didn't have to." Weiss gave the most realistic smile she had in some time, this time not having to practice a fake one as she did for family matters.

"I know, I know, but the market's-" Kali was cut off.

"How early did you go to be prepared for…"

"Weiss," Blake said from the other side of the table. "It's never too early, never too expensive, and never too kind to make a small gesture for someone who needs to feel welcomed somewhere." The mother and daughter smiled at each other.

"Thank you," Weiss began. "You have no idea how much I appreciate it, but I said yesterday… you've already done more than enough."

"For you, maybe," Blake said. "But for everyone else who didn't grow up with an absentee family and militaristic standards, this is how we treat each other. Is this _'everything you wanted to see_?'" Blake circled the conversation back to Weiss' time in Atlas.

Weiss only needed to think for a split second before she held her coffee to drink after saying, "I wish I could stay for longer, but we're off to Mistral so soon… Yes."

Weiss did not even have to repack before leaving to the Menagerie docks.

"It was great to be with family again," Blake said as the Belladonna parents escorted the three young adults to the ship. "I don't know long we will be in Mistral for, but Sun's team can give us a place to stay."

"Is that so?" Ghira asked of the monkey.

"Yes, sir," Sun said. "Haven Academy is on a break from classes, but Team SSSN pooled together to rent a home out as a base for part-time jobs or for when we aren't out on missions. Blake and Weiss are safe with us."

Blake and Sun exchanged their farewells with Menagerie's ruling couple.

"Whenever you need us, we will be happy to be your home," Kali said to Weiss, though the same sentiment carried for Blake and Sun.

"Of course, Kali. And thank you both for your hospitality and kindness." Weiss bowed to Ghira, and after doing the same for Kali, found herself in a hug from the mother. Though tense at first, she shared the quick embrace before rejoining Blake and Sun for the voyage.

As the ship sailed, Ghira turned to Kali and said with a hand on his temple, "I know how you feel about him, but we really don't need that monkey boy around."

"Well, he _is_ welcome."

"He is welcome, but sometimes he's the _least_ observant person I've ever seen."

* * *

Klein entered Jacques' study with a coffee for the Dust monopolist.

"Good afternoon, sir. I'm certain thoughts are healing over with your daughter?"

"Certainly, Klein. It's only made clearer she is entirely unfit for the Schnee Dust Company," he chuckled as he finished, "and Atlas in general. Ironwood has been a nuisance to us and for him to approve of her… certainly he is next."

Klein played devil's advocate, or in this case, presented the sane argument, saying, "He will stay as headmaster of the academy for however long he pleases, but his time as General is subject to the council's wishes. He could be terminated at any time, but it would take everyone else to do so."

"Only a coward would work with him. Assuredly that's why Weiss takes a liking to him. And to think he offered her a spot at the school to begin with. They both deserve nothing."

Klein tested the waters with "Does Menagerie agree? The White Fang will seize the opportunity."

"Yes, they will."

* * *

"Hello, Your Grace." The Albains had the nerve to return to Ghira even after Ilia confessed her loss.

"Gentlemen." Ghira purposefully stood with both arms behind the double doors, only the center of his frame exposed to the Albain brothers.

"We came to report our current proceedings in Mistral with hopes to reconcile our image."

"Very well, go on."

"A large meeting will take place very soon to come together on the White Fang's status as an organization. Adam Taurus will be there, but we will be sure to withhold extremism in favor of High Leader Khan."

"Should you not already be there for this?"

"We wish we could represent ourselves as you say, but we have been appointed to keep an eye on Menagerie to uphold the same wills here while he is absent."

"How have you been doing so?"

"Smaller meetings have taken place, and it seems interesting developments have been on the island as of late. Without our leaders here, though, we were remiss to seize the opportunity. Surely our inaction must come at some comfort to you, Your Grace." What the Albains saw as covering up the facts with generalities, Ghira saw as sugarcoating Fang plans.

"The actions to be taken in the first place are to be kept an eye on. It is interesting to see the actions of dissenting views in my society. As Chieftain, it is my duty to represent everyone. But even I must make decisions you find repulsive, and I will not apologize to you for them. Have a good day, gentlemen." After the developments caused by Blake, Sun and Weiss in the past week, Ghira began to treat the Fang differently. He feared for their safety in Mistral. The doors closed, and the Albains returned to a discreet office behind the tavern they own as civilians. They did not find Sister Ilia, who was expected to receive the Albains' report and take it to Mistral.

* * *

As soon as the ship's captain could leave the work to his crew, he went on deck to greet his passengers. Upon seeing Blake and Sun with a new face by them, he approached in search of the stories they could tell as Huntsmen-in-training.

When the topic shifted to Weiss, Blake trailed off when she saw a familiar face hiding among the Faunus on board.

"Ilia, have you been following me?!"


	4. Ahead of Schedule

**-Chapter 4: Ahead of Schedule-**

The ship was full steam ahead to Mistral, beckoning the waves to follow its leadership. Weiss, Blake, and Sun coerced Ilia into an interrogation in her room.

"What are you doing on this boat, Ilia?" Blake started. Weiss caught onto Blake and Ilia's history by now, so she knew Blake could steer it right. Sun, in fulfilling his promise to Blake to get even with Ilia a week ago, tried to start a fight above deck as they pulled Ilia into conversation. Blake put him in place for it.

Ilia was ordered to sit on her bed, and Blake stood directly in front of her. Sun leaned against the wall off to the side, opposite where Weiss turned a desk chair around. Ilia faced three very different people, and the ship isn't designed for space, meaning the three of them intruded in what very little space Ilia had.

"You already know the answer to that, Blake. And now they gave me a _new_ scroll and put big brother software on it."

"You're going to Mistral for the… _events_ ," Blake said, "and the earliest meeting is three nights from now. You're not supposed to be on _this_ boat. Your schedule has you leaving Menagerie tomorrow morning. So, I'll ask again: What are you doing on _this_ boat?"

"I..." Ilia paused as she choked up, tears beginning to form as her skin turns green with blue spots. Weiss was taken aback by the rare Faunus trait, but she kept quiet. "I don't know. I saw you, but I didn't see you harboring the heiress to the worst company in existence." Her skin shifted to red and yellow quickly before returning to normal.

Ilia shot Weiss a look, and Weiss turned to Blake before asking, "Do you want to say it, or should I?"

"Go ahead," Blake approved.

Weiss addressed Ilia slowly and with as smooth of words as she could, saying, "I know the CCT system is down, so you have no way of knowing, but the other day, my father revoked my status as heiress to the SDC. I came to Menagerie because I saw a path to redeem the Schnee name other than by being heiress and inheriting his power."

"She was going to bring a lot of change to the company," Blake continued. "But once her father realized she would harm his legacy, he locked her away and gave her brother the company's future." Blake retraced her thought, "You saw me, so you boarded early. I'm certain you know the White Fang knows you're here."

"The Albain brothers must be reporting it by now. I'll be in hot water for this," Ilia fleshed out. "But I had to see you. I just… I don't know… I just had to." Ilia struggled with herself. She truly did not know.

"You don't mean to tell me you want to help me."

Ilia tried out a few thoughts in her head, and said, "I do mean so… I guess. I've only seen Adam once recently, and he's… changed since you were gone." Sun tried to hold his disgust in on that, settling on turning around for a short moment. Blake's ears dropped at the understatement. Ilia clarified, "Since the last few months, I mean. After Beacon. His denial has only led to higher ambitions. But… I don't want to 'help you' help you."

"What does that even mean?" Sun uttered as if to himself.

"It means," Blake answered, "that Ilia is finding herself where I was a year ago." She faced Ilia as she spoke. "She wants to fight for a noble cause, but she doesn't like where the White Fang is going."

"That's not true," Ilia said. After knowing glares, Ilia walked back on her statement, saying, "That's not _entirely_ true."

"Whatever it is," Blake said, "you want to help, and I have a place for you to do so." Ilia gave a questioned look. "You know we're headed to Mistral. I'm prepared to finish Adam's rule in the organization once and for all. If that means lethal force, I don't care. Since he's already planning on removing Khan, we just have to plan carefully. Adam can finally stop harming Faunus' images. We can both be done with him. After the meeting, I hope we can work together."

"You don't think I'll let him know you'll be there?" Ilia challenged.

"I don't think it's in your best interest. He hasn't changed one bit. I've known him since we were kids. First it was 'We shouldn't buy from this shop,' and then it was 'We should burn this shop down,' and then 'We should burn any shop that charitied for that shop.' He's escalated for the past ten years. You know you'd fear him if he reaches power."

"Can't we just fear him now?" Sun said. "He gashed your side, disarmed your teammate, and even you, the girl worried about him from within the group, pierced my shoulder. This isn't a debate. The guy's way past his sanity. You won't tell to him because you _know_ you can't stay with him any longer."

" _You_ should fear him now. I shouldn't worry," Ilia said. "At least I won't get physical punishment for being on this boat. If they find you at the docks, Blake, you and your ice princess are dead whether heiress or not."

"They can track your scroll to the ocean, so they'll expect you here," Blake said. "If you get us off this boat unnoticed, we'll pay it forward at the meeting. I promise."

" _All_ of you?" Ilia asked, a more dominant tone in her voice than she was in the position to have.

Weiss knew this was directed to her. "Oh, no I can't be there. There are dangers I've faced before, but ranked Fang members are not one of them."

Ilia was pleased to hear the development. Weiss, Blake, and Sun shared a look.

"So, what do we do with her?" Sun asked to the others, still within earshot of Ilia.

"We," Blake said openly to the room, "do nothing. Ilia and I have been friends before." She turned to the chameleon, "and I hope we can pick something up from here. You have drive, ambition, and will. So do we. So does the White Fang. If you still think being militant and achieving superiority will get you anywhere, so be it. But if you keep picking fights for the sake of _your_ sense of justice, you will only tire yourself out. No matter where I go, it seems you'll know where to find me. If you reconsider, we'll be waiting for you. How are you going to get us off this boat safely?"

Ilia had a few eyerolls, but she said, "I'm not doing anything for you. I'll only say the Mistral docks are on a cliff, so the boat's walkway will extend up a little to a higher dock. There are other docks leveled below, though, so you can find your way underneath the normal exit. If that's not enough, you can make it enough."

Blake looked around in thought. "That's that then." She gestured to her friends, "Let's go. That's all we're getting." They followed her out Ilia's door and closed it.

Now in a new sense of privacy, Sun said, "Okay but we really shouldn't trust her, right?"

"Oh, of course not. We already had the information we needed about the meeting, and she will tell on us. But I wanted to see where she is. She hasn't changed."

"This isn't good for me though," Weiss said. "The White Fang knows about me now."

Blake considered for a second, but she stuck with, "They probably already knew about you but wanted to wait to make a play. Ilia will tell on you, but that can play in our favor." They entered their shared room on the ship and closed the door. "You were genuine about staying away from the meeting… and the inevitable fight it will cause."

"And I meant it," Weiss interjected. "I'm not going to kill myself by going anywhere _near_ the meeting."

Blake tested her, saying, "If you stayed in watch a couple buildings away on the rooftops, you could find a way through guards unnoticed and enter the fight after we do."

"Do we have that plan? Is there even a plan?" Weiss asked.

"We can go into specifics later, but for now, if we already know a fight will happen, which it will, we can maintain stealth for long enough to find an entry point at the right time."

"Stealth is your thing," Weiss said. "You're a ninja. You even have a katana. I wouldn't…"

"That's why I said we'll talk about it later. We still need to get off this boat unseen."

"She was right about the docks," Sun said. "When I stowed away to Vale," the girls rolled their eyes and put hands on hips, and he continued, "that's how the docks were when I left. This ship is big enough to attach to an upper dock. Personal boats get the lower docks, but it's not too much of a drop."

Weiss started thinking. "If she's telling us close to the mark, I wonder what she's thinking," she said.

"She's playing for herself," Blake said. "She's trying to lure us to the meeting with our hopes up. I don't trust her, but everything she said was valid because she knew we'd know if she lied to us. She still managed to play a few too many cards. When we get to your space," she told Sun, "we can figure out how to play this."

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," the intercom said, "this is your captain speaking. We are now arriving in Mistral twenty minutes ahead of schedule. The coast is only a mile away, so please begin to prepare your belongings as we dock soon. It has been a pleasure to be your captain on this safe, uninterrupted journey to Mistral. Enjoy your stay."

Weiss, Blake, and Sun took advantage of stealth while disembarking from the rear of the ship, leaving through the section where side-cannons would protrude when necessary. They vanished into the crowded, disarranged buildings of Mistral's lower coast as Ilia strolled off the ship's upper-level catwalk.

"Ilia, report," Ilia heard.

She really didn't want to hear that voice, so she gave damage control. "Master Taurus, sir, Blake and Weiss Schnee are here in Mistral."

He sneered at the news, and he reversed to his initial purpose. "Thank you, Ilia. You are a vital asset to the organization. What do the brothers Albain report from the Chieftain?"

Ilia knew he set her up to fail answering this question. He knew she should still be making her voyage to Mistral at this point. "I departed before I could reach them, sir."

" _Yes,_ you _did_. You are to be in my office setting at sunset. Do you understand?" As was the case when Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald contacted him by force, Adam and the White Fang had a multi-tent campsite in Mistral's dense swampland. Adam's office had become a symbol of trouble for White Fang operatives, but Ilia luckily never got fully acquainted with the space.

"Yes… sir."


	5. Mobilization

**-Chapter 5: Mobilization-**

"Alright, girls, welcome to Casa SSSN," Sun said, as he invited Weiss and Blake into his team's apartment.

"Okay, that's a bit much," Weiss said. "Neptune, Scarlet and Sage live here too."

"'SSSN' as in Team SSSN, Weiss. Not 'Sun' like me."

"I know." Weiss chuckled at her own pun.

Blake entered and said, "This is a pretty good space."

"Well… it's certainly a lot of room," Sun said, "but it still leaves me sleeping on the futon here while the rest get their own beds. And we wanted our own rooms so badly that we only have the living room here for hanging out."

"Buuuut," Neptune said as he rounded a corner, "we make good with it. It is pretty cool, huh?" When he saw Weiss, he changed posture and said, " _Snow Angel._ "

Weiss rolled her eyes, turned off at how quick Neptune was to flirt despite their last encounter. She sighed and said, "It's good to see you in one piece too, Neptune."

She looked around at the organized tables and counters. "I would have figured this to be more of a 'man cave,'" Weiss said.

Neptune responded, "Believe me. Every day it's a struggle to keep that from happening, but I do my best." Weiss was surprised, not having picked him for the orderly type. "For instance," he continued, "I washed Scarlet and Sage's sheets earlier. That's where you two will sleep. They're out on a mission together that they _insisted_ only needed two people, so I was left here to do nothing."

"Thank you," Weiss said.

"We should only be here for two nights," Blake said. "Things may play out differently than we hope at tomorrow night's meeting, but if all goes well, we should be headed back to Menagerie the day after."

"However long you stay is good with us," Sun said.

"Would any of you like to eat?" Neptune offered. "I can make dinner."

"That would be lovely," said Weiss.

* * *

The four huntsmen and huntresses-in-training sat at the dinner table, nearly finished with Chef Neptune's meal.

"It's been months," Neptune said. "It's nice seeing you two again. What is this mission you're going on anyway?"

"It's to the outskirts of Mistral… to the west," Blake said. "The White Fang is holding a meeting tomorrow night, and by the documents we found, it's going to be something of a civil war."

"Oh," Neptune nearly choked on his food. "No kidding."

"Yeah," Weiss said. "The people responsible for the attacks on Vale are trying to take over, and intel shows they know they'll see resistance."

"And you're going to run _toward_ the chaos?" Neptune asked.

"It's like this," Sun said. "Blake's father used to lead the White Fang, back when they were peaceful. It got out of control, and now she and Weiss want to restore it to the good old days."

"What do you have to do with it, Weiss?" Neptune asked.

"By removing the conflict between the White Fang and the SDC, I can start building a rapport greater than my father's since I'm no longer the heiress… and that's a whole different story. Essentially, I retaliated against him, and in his selfishness, he revoked my status."

"And so you're getting back at him by…?" Neptune allowed her to pick up the end of his thought.

"By showing Remnant a better Dust company than my father's. If my father can see what success truly looks like, he might allow me back. I'd only accept if he and Whitley step down from power though. I can't trust either to treat Faunus fairly or not make backroom deals with the upper class, so it is unlikely this would come true."

"So if not?"

"If not, I'll look for other ways to restore my grandfather's name. I'm not sure how yet though. Any means necessary." After they cleaned up from their meal, Blake fashioned a large whiteboard out of smaller ones Team SSSN used to play party games with visitors.

"Here's the plan," she said. "The meeting takes place tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. on the western border of Mistral, known as the West End District. The specific building is an abandoned warehouse formerly known as Stage 5. There are a trainyard and other warehouses surrounding it." She drew the layout based on a concept map from Ilia's stolen scroll. "Adam Taurus, the insurgent party's leader, and Sienna Khan, the current head, will meet with other ranking members in a conference room on the north end of the building. Taurus plans to transport his insurgents, dressed as we've seen them in Vale, by train on the east side. They will likely wait in the train cars before attacking. Taurus' party believes Khan's resistance force will arrive from hiding in any one of the warehouses north of Stage 5.

"This leaves us," Blake continued, "as intruders, to dress as Sienna Khan's forces if we can find them. Adam's forces will enter first, and we will arrive with Khan's so long as we can locate them in time. We will also need a transport driver." Blake looked at Weiss.

"How will I get involved without being instantly targeted though?" the Schnee responded.

"And how do you know you can trust the documents?" Neptune added.

"Weiss, this is your fight too. You're going to at least be the getaway driver if necessary. And Neptune, these files were on the scroll as we stole it, and Adam Taurus likely knows we're in Mistral after Ilia, a subordinate, followed us. But the way Ilia described her situation, this scroll can't be monitored, but her replacement can. Based on the past, Adam doesn't credit me for much, so he wouldn't change plans just because I pose a threat. He would think he can deal with me in any circumstance. After Vale, though, I know too many of his moves, and the battle will preoccupy his efforts to a degree."

"I'd rather be away from the fighting," Weiss said, "but I could still take care of the few guards we would likely see there."

"That's right," Blake thought. "There would be guards left behind, possibly for any attracted Grimm." Blake said. "Watch out for those."

"What transport is there? What would I even drive?" Weiss followed.

"My car," Sun said. "It's an old sedan. Plenty of rust- it's unsuspecting, but it hasn't had any problems. It should be fine for the four of us."

"The four of us?!" Blake and Weiss said in unison.

"Yeah, remember? I said we always get friends involved," Sun said.

"That was for research, Sun," Blake challenged. "And that White Fang meeting was only to encourage and mobilize troops to Mountain Glenn. We didn't get you involved in a fight that will probably leave many Faunus dead. Neptune should stay out of this. I'd be against you coming too, Sun, but at least you're invested in the outcome of this as a Faunus."

"I agree with Blake," Neptune said. "I'll stay back here. I could let you know if they track that scroll to here and anything happens."

"Thank you, Neptune," Blake said. "After Sienna Khan, The Lieutenant, who Weiss fought on the train, would be next in charge. After him is Adam Taurus, then the Albain brothers… sadly. Adam seems to have stocked the upper White Fang with supporters. I hope we can manage to make a wave tomorrow night. This could be devastating if we don't seize a good degree of power or turn in enough criminals."

"Adam Taurus and some others have been listed as 'wanted' on the news lately," Neptune said.

"For how much money?" Weiss asked.

"About 1,500 Lien each," Neptune confirmed.

"I could find Dust with that money," the Schnee thought aloud.

"Sounds good then," Blake said. "We leave here at 6:30 tomorrow to get in a position early on the northern end of Stage 5 and remain in stealth as recruits such that we can infiltrate when the time is right. We'll also need to find a good spot for the getaway on the west side, away from the Fang, just in case we'll need it. If not, Weiss, don't be afraid to help us inside. Hopefully, being chauffeured all your life doesn't make you a poor driver."

Team SSSN gave Blake dirty looks, but Weiss took it kindly with laughter and said, "No, I've driven before… but that's a good one." Sun and Neptune sighed. "So that's that. We should get to bed early for tomorrow. It'll be a long day, and I think I have some time-lag from Menagerie."

* * *

As the sun set with Weiss, Blake, Sun, and Neptune going to bed early, Ilia arrived in Adam Taurus' encampment. The main room, adorned with a map of Remnant and several tables and supply drawers, was in open sight, but Adam was not there. Adam Taurus had already given his followers their orders for the next night's meeting and told them to retire to their tents for the night, so Ilia felt like an intrusion.

"Master Taurus, I am here on time," Ilia gulped at those words. Despite what she told Blake, being in the tent made her apprehensive of Adam more than she believed she would have needed to be. For the first time, she felt fear from within the organization she once took solace from.

Adam pulled back a curtain on the left. "Thank you for timeliness, Ilia. After tomorrow, we will be able to retaliate against the Schnees and our troubling fugitive with much more force thanks to you." Ilia motioned to mention Weiss' demotion, but Adam stopped her with a single finger on her lips. He slowly lowered it and said, "I don't like people seeing my meetings, so follow me." In a way, Adam cut himself off. He was about to say something with a tilted head, but he stopped himself in some form of judgement as he turned to go deeper into his tent.

He led her past the curtains to his armory, filled with stolen Schnee Dust crates for him and spare weaponry for grunt operatives. More importantly, he led her even further into his quarters- into his… _quarters_. Ilia had her suspicions thirty seconds ago, but this confirmed far worse than she imagined.

"But I don't take insubordination lightly, and too bad. I was _really_ looking forward to what the Albains had to say." Adam loomed over her.

"Taurus, sir-" Ilia said with haste. In defending herself, she slowly took a step back.

"Now, now, panic isn't necessary, _my_ _darling_... but _begging_ might be." He advanced onto her, grabbing the belt buckles on her top and undoing one.

Ilia gave a quiet yelp and turned around, only to see the Lieutenant guarding the door before she was knocked to the ground from behind. Adam grabbed her by her top's zipper and forced it downward, disappointed it only went a fourth of the way through her outfit.

The surrounding tents of White Fang members heard yelps of pain mixed with coughing, choking, and short bursts of crying followed again by yelps. As Adam's followers, they remained silent and motionless. They already received their closing orders, after all.

So much for Ilia saving herself for 'Mr. Right'.


	6. Painting the Walls

**-Chapter 6: Painting the Walls-**

"Okay, Weiss, we're in position," Blake said of herself and Sun through earbud microphones. "We're dressed as Khan's forces. It's currently… 8:45. We're two warehouses north of Stage 5."

"I'm beginning to think this is a game of chicken," Weiss said as she hid in Sun's car two blocks away. "Both sides are just waiting outside, and they know it. Are you sure you'll infiltrate Stage 5, or are you just playing some absurd game of cat and mouse?"

"We volunteered to be scouts so we could stay outside," Sun said, "but most of the forces will move into the building from the northwest. We don't know what Adam will do, but it looks like there's a little bit of spying on each other."

Blake said, "But Adam is too headstrong to see obstacles as they are. He probably will order his insurgents into Stage 5 before caring about being spied on. We'll try to steer people away from you, and we'll eventually abandon our post for the fight. If you don't encounter much resistance, follow us in."

"We'll send you a signal or something," Sun said.

"I'll be waiting," Weiss said as she slouched into her seat in boredom.

Through her transceiver, Weiss heard someone say, "Everyone, despite our differences with the previous goals of the White Fang, Former Leader Belladonna's contacts assured us of Adam Taurus and his dissenters within the organization, and we are not going to let tonight take us." Weiss knew it meant Blake and Sun. "Recruits, you know what uniform to look for. If they're not wearing one, change out of yours so that you blend in, but be sure to keep the wristbands on so we don't result in friendly fire. Scouts, take your positions."

"Blake, Sun, let me know when you can talk," she said. "I know it would look suspicious in front of the others."

Weiss waited many minutes in silence before hearing Blake say, "We're in position about three warehouses northeast of you. They'll wait a good ten minutes into the meeting before pouring in. Adam likes his theatrics. He saved himself some time to put on a show in there or something. All of the officials are confirmed present in the building."

"And don't worry about us not talking," Sun said. "We're only giving visible cues to the rest of Khan's forces. We're not in earshot."

"Is that…" Blake paused.

"It looks like it," Sun said.

"Adam's faction is in uniform, and they're entering. Give the signal, Sun."

"How long until you start fighting?" Weiss asked.

"Khan's forces will wait only for a couple seconds before entering, just quick enough that Adam can't force Khan to surrender," Sun said.

"And _we_ ," Blake said, "will enter shortly after. Adam wants Khan alive, so we don't have to worry about saving him for now. He may be detained, but he's wanted alive. The rest of the Faunus are fighting though." An explosion erupted, the sound mostly coming to Weiss through her earbud. "Aaand there it begins. Adam's forces breached. Khan's forces will move in behind and hope to surround them. We're staying put."

"Can't you sneak past your scouts?" Weiss asked.

"You know what? Yes," Blake said. "I'm starting to get worried. I can hear the fighting inside from this far. If we enter now, most of it will be done. We have to get in there."

"Ugh, this is so much faster than we thought," Sun said.

"Can anybody really predict a battle though?" Weiss asked.

"Good point," Blake said. "Okay, we're leaving our post and joining."

"How about that signal?" Weiss said.

"You'll see it in a couple minutes. We're leaving our earpieces behind now. See you soon."

"See you soon. And Blake, be careful with the Dust I gave you. I only brought so much from Atlas."

"Will do."

A few minutes later, Weiss saw something she confused for the signal. She climbed out of Sun's car after seeing a yellow flash of light zoom across the intersection in front of her before it made a crashing noise once it got out of sight. She went over and rounded the corner to see an overturned yellow motorcycle. There was a cough.

"Yang?!" Weiss was only prepared for so much out of this day. "Yang, are you okay?"

"I'm good, I'm good. Don't worry, my Aura took it. It charged my Semblance too." Weiss offered a hand, and Yang accepted with her new arm.

"Whoa, that's…" Weiss didn't expect the new limb.

"It's from General Ironwood. He had it made to show his thanks for my efforts at Beacon."

"It's good to see you… What are you doing here?" Weiss asked.

"I'm looking for Ruby. She's here in Mistral with the rest of Team JNPR. Good to see you too."

"Do you know where?"

"No, Ruby said she'd send a letter with her address, but it never got to me."

"How did you crash, anyway? I know you can be reckless, but…"

"Not… not the case anymore, Weiss," Yang said. "I… saw a face inside that window." Yang pointed at Stage 5. "He's the one who…" She made a cutting motion at her metal arm. "I had a flashback… and I lost control. I'd ask you to come with to find Ruby, but what is going on here? I was a bit dazed a couple seconds ago."

"The White Fang is holding a meeting in there," Weiss said as she pointed to the warehouse. "Well, it was a meeting. One of the ranking members, Adam Taurus," Yang recognized the name and lowered her head, "is fighting for control of the organization right now. Blake and Sun are also in there."

"Really?" Yang's eyes went wide. "I'll have to put Ruby on hold until later then." Yang picked up her bike and put on her gauntlets. "She'll understand. We can get the team back together soon! We have to fight now though."

"Give me one second," Weiss said. After assessing the fight, Weiss knew she needed support. She took out her Myrtenaster, turned, and stabbed the ground, creating a large glyph.

"What's that?" Yang had never seen this kind of glyph before, having been separated from Weiss when she used it at the Battle of Beacon. Four swords rotated inside.

From the ground rose a suit of armor much taller than Weiss. Armed with a longsword, it knelt before her. "My Semblance," she said. "I've been thinking about new ways to use my summoning the past couple days." She turned to give it a command.

"Separate." The giant suit of armor separated its limbs and head from its torso, all parts now floating in the air. "Attach the sword." The sword flew to encompass Myrtenaster, with the sword's handle matching the rapier's. Weiss could still use it as a Dust rapier, but it had the impact of a sword. It was made of energy, so it only added a little weight to the weapon. "Give me the armor." The armor flew to encompass Weiss. It would be the lightest yet most effective armor she'd ever wear.

"Yang, you can have the helmet. Next time, wear one when you drive." The armor's helmet floated to Yang.

"Just to be sure… reform." The pieces flew off the huntresses-in-training and reattached to one being. "Go back." They protected Weiss and Yang once more. "Let's not keep Blake and Sun waiting,"

When they opened a door to the warehouse, they were taken aback at the events. Many White Fang members of both sides lay lifeless on the floor of the building. It was shaped like an airplane hangar, a half-cylinder made of metal, and burning crates were scattered throughout, ever so slowly taking away the oxygen. The pavement and metal structures prevented it from spreading, however. Fighting continued to ensue on the far end. Weiss could make out Blake and Sun in their disguise fighting Adam Taurus and the Lieutenant. A burly man dressed in pale green, who Weiss considered about the size of Blake's father was fighting…

"Winter!"

"Who?" Yang asked.

"That's my sister there. What is my sister doing here?"

"Fighting that guy, apparently. We'll catch up with her later. For now, I have some inner demons to confront."

They dodged stray bullets as they made their way to Blake, arriving just as she and Sun were knocked to the ground. Weiss held a glyph in defense.

"Blake, get up," Yang said as she stretched out her robotic hand. Blake shook her head, dazed in disbelief of seeing an old friend and a new limb. She reached out her hand while overcome with emotions and things to say. "Hold that thought, get up, and _fight_!"

The only thing Adam's mask didn't cover was his growing grin. "A Schnee _and_ an old friend? Blake, you have to stop _giving_ them to me!" Despite her past, Blake's kinship with her friends allowed her to look past the assumptions of Adam's words.

Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Sun outnumbered Adam and the Lieutenant, but they fought as if they took turns receiving the attacks.

"You still have the Dust, right?" Weiss said.

"Haven't used it yet. Been waiting for you," Blake said as she blocked the Lieutenant's chainsaw. After trading a few blows between forces, Blake and Sun separated to take on the Lieutenant. Weiss and Yang fought against Adam.

Blake charged at the Lieutenant and used her shadow Semblance to create a fire clone, losing him his balance before dodging Sun's barrage of lever action shots aimed at him.

"He's a big guy, Blake, just keep slowing him down further."

"I know, and your Semblance can do that too."

Sun used his Semblance to make a single clone, which he flung at the burly ranked operative. It exploded on impact, sending him back a step. However, when Blake took the chance to attack, he regained composure fast enough to rev at her. She blocked it with an ice clone, which trapped the weapon only long enough for the first rev to shred the ice apart.

Weiss created a sphere of glyphs around Adam and jumped between them, slicing him with the energy sword along the way. Adam predicted her next strike would come from his left, leaving his back to Yang. Yang interrupted Weiss' chain of hits with a punch backed by the energy of her bike crash. Adam was sent into the metal wall of the warehouse. When he stood up, his sword and mask were lit red. He put the sword back in his shotgun and took the stance Yang remembered from Beacon. Weiss began a time dilation glyph and sent the effects to Yang, increasing her reaction time dramatically.

As Adam taunted Yang, she obliged, flying in the air at him. Adam sliced the air, releasing a massive arc of energy. Yang's reaction time allowed her to see it, shoot the ground with her fists, and spring over it before coming down hard enough on Adam to turn the dent in the warehouse wall into a hole, Adam now rolling onto the street. If Weiss didn't have the energy armor on, Adam's energy pulse would have severely harmed her. Instead, it broke her chest piece. Yang's reaction time faded to normal.

Sun reformed his shotguns into a staff. He ran at the Lieutenant and used it as a pole vault, jumping in the air as a distraction as Blake tied him with Gambol Shroud's rope. While bound, he managed to block Sun, but Blake sent an electric clone at him. As he was being electrocuted, Blake ran at him and sliced him with her katana.

The masked man fell to the ground, still bound by Blake. He grabbed Sun's ankle and sawed it, breaking his Aura and then his lower leg as Blake kicked the man's face to the side, cutting off circulation for a short second. The man went limp, and Sun broke free. The monkey's back arched up and away as if it began the buildup that became a gargled scream. Sun spun on his good leg and retaliated by shooting the grounded man repeatedly as Blake held his chainsaw away from his control. The man's Aura fully depleted.

"What should we do with him?" Sun asked.

"You said it already," Blake answered. She sliced into his thigh. "Immobilize him." The Lieutenant let out a loud groan. He lost the grip of his weapon, and Blake threw it far away from him. No longer preoccupied with the man, Blake untied him and went to join the fight against Adam. Sun followed, but soon the man rose to his feet.

The Lieutenant spoke. "What will this do for you? Without me, Khan, or Taurus, the White Fang will only continue. When one head is removed, more will take its place. Hatred is too strong in this world. You're a Faunus. Why can't you understand?"

Sun rebutted, saying "You can either dwell on the past, or you can see what's possible now. An equal world is out there if you look for the people who want to live in it." Following Blake's orders, Sun shot his opposite foot, leaving him with neither leg to carry his weight. "The authorities will be here for you."

Adam reentered the building, now faced with Weiss, Blake, and Yang. "Why must you think you can stop a revolution?!" He yelled.

"This was never _your_ revolution, Adam," Blake stated. "The White Fang belongs to _my_ family. My father stepped down, but after what other hands have done, I am _not_ afraid to take Khan's place."

"Khan? Look at him," Adam pointed to a far wall. In the ensuing fight, Khan lay sprawled out on the ground, blood on the wall behind him, splattered from when he was in a standing position. "Khan was never right to lead the Faunus to their rightful place in this world. In his death, I can take what I deserve."

"This was never about the Faunus, Adam," Blake challenged. "Do you see how many people are dead in here?" Around the room, there were no more fights. There was no evidence of Winter Schnee, nor the man she was fighting. Everyone left lay either dead or severely wounded. "If you wanted Faunus to succeed, you would not have caused the death of so many. This has _always_ been about you and you alone. You deserve nothing."

"And with you and the Lieutenant gone and the CCT down, nobody can reach the Albains to tell them they inherited the organization," Blake added. "I'm not gone. I'll never be gone."

"Blake, ignore him," Weiss said. "Take this." She moved the energy sword she summoned onto Gambol Shroud, now increasing the potential of her katana.

"Do you want us to have to kill you, Adam?" Blake asked.

"Try me."

Blake opened with shots, soon followed by Yang using ranged punches and Weiss' Dust. Adam was taken off balance, but not before he shot his katana out of the holster and into Weiss' chest, knocking her down and her Aura out. Blake and Yang pressured him, so he took slow steps back in apprehension. His vice would not be controlled, however, so he threw his katana in panic at Weiss, and it landed with a sizable gash in her abdomen.

Without the meaningful half of his weapon, soon Adam was simply overwhelmed and unable to strike back with any significance. Blake and Yang overpowered him with their ammunition, and his Aura, too, was reduced to nothing.

He was completely defenseless, now sitting against the wall of the warehouse. "What can you do, Blake?! You were never able to lead people. You never had anything worthwhile in you. You can't even summon the strength to kill me, and you'll still be running no matter what."

Blake Belladonna said nothing. She stood still with her half-katana half-energy sword and let out a sigh. She couldn't find the right way to tell him off, so she proved him wrong. Blake took a deep breath in and out. She raised her katana, powered by Weiss' Semblance, and swung horizontally, relieving his body of his head.

Done with the day's events, she dropped her weapon, dropped to her knees, and started crying with mixed tears.

"It's okay, Blake. It's okay," Yang consoled. She sat next to Blake and gave a deep embrace. "It's all over now. Don't worry." Overcome with seeing Yang in perfect condition and no fight to preoccupy her thoughts, Blake cried in relief into Yang's shoulder and returned the hug.

"Why did I have to do that, Yang? Why did I have to kill my oldest friend?" Blake said through her tears.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Blake," Yang consoled. "I'm sorry you had to watch him change in front of you. But you don't have to worry about him anymore."

"You say that like you're okay. He cut your arm off! How are you not scarred for life?"

Yang exhaled deeply. "Who said I wasn't? We can talk about it later. Let's get everyone to safety. You can move on. I can move on too."

Yang called the Mistral emergency hotline. "Hello, I'm on the west end of Mistral, in the abandoned warehouses. I was caught up in a battle between many White Fang soldiers. There are many dead and wounded here. Some are high ranking members… I'm not sure of the address, sir… Yes, sir, I'll go outside for that. Be quick. Thank you and goodbye."

Yang turned to Blake and the injured Weiss and Sun, "Don't you worry. Help is on its way. Take it easy."

The aerial ambulance arrived twenty minutes later. Yang used her ranged shots as a form of flare signal, getting its attention. "Sorry about the wait," the pilot said after landing. "The warehouse district hasn't been used in years. Let's get everyone on. Will you need more transport?"

"Absolutely," Yang said. "Any ambulances are necessary. Bring your stretchers." The pilot went back to his ambulance, calling for support and calling the police force to identify the wanted criminals involved, dead or alive.

Yang reentered Stage 5 after connecting with the paramedics. "Okay, everyone. Round up everyone we can and let's get out of here quick."

Blake, Yang, and a few remaining White Fang operatives helped the immobile ones out of the building. On her way around, Blake noticed Ilia among the injured. "I knew you wouldn't get out of this mess," Blake said. Ilia was silent. She wasn't at risk of death, but she was still overcome with shock. "Come on, let's get you out of here."

"Okay," Ilia said, almost like a child submitting to a parent. She used Blake for leverage, walking as Blake kept an arm around her. Ilia was a mess. The fight left her with gashes that cut through her clothes, but there was also a rip the neck hole, and belt loops were torn. Aside from blood stains, her skin was also heavily bruised.

"Today was rough on you, huh?" Blake asked.

"Not… Not just today." Blake and Ilia made their way through to hole Adam made through the side of the building. Ilia saw what remained of her assailant, and she stopped to let her emotions run through.

"Come on, Ilia. It's over. We can both move on from him. The medics are here." Ilia only faintly heard her, the upright position throwing her senses off.

Weiss, Blake, Yang, Sun, and Ilia took the helicopter ambulance to the Mistralian hospital. Ground support came for the other operatives, and police followed to identify criminals.

Weiss and Ilia fainted from blood loss from fighting, but the rest were conversing on the air ride. "What is that airship?" Yang squinted at an airship in the sky that had four engines, each with a ribbon trailing off. "Where have I seen that before?" Weiss lay in front of the window Yang was looking through. "Oh!" Yang made the phone call, and Winter would carve out time to visit Weiss soon.

That night, Weiss and Ilia were checked into their own rooms at Mistral's hospital. Sun received treatment for his broken leg, complete with a cast and crutches.

* * *

Yang, Sun, Neptune, and Winter visited Weiss at the hospital late the following morning after retrieving Sun's car and Yang's motorcycle from where they were left. Blake came along too, but she went to Ilia's room.

Weiss woke from her injury. She was surprised to wake up with an IV in her arm, but Yang cleared the air. "We're in Mistral General now. I found your sister for you too."

"Hello, sister."

"Winter!" They shared an embrace. "What are you doing in Mistral?"

"I was sent to monitor criminal activity after Atlas had suspicions following the Vale crisis. Intel followed me where it led you, it seems. How did you know about the convergence?"

"Blake, my teammate. Where is she?"

"She's right across the hall with her friend," Yang said. "I'm going to go check on them. Be right back!" Yang bid adieu.

Weiss continued, "Blake found documents from a spy she trapped. Who were you fighting? He didn't seem like a White Fang elite."

"His name is Hazel Rainart," Winter said.

"Who?" Weiss, Sun, and Neptune looked at her.

"Hazel is one of Atlas' most wanted men. You are right: he has no known history with the White Fang. Ironwood has a high price on him, but we aren't told what he's done to deserve his wanted status. I couldn't keep him from escaping yesterday. Why did you flee to Mistral and choose to come fight, Weiss?"

Weiss got heated as she spoke, saying, "Father didn't want me to have ambition, so he locked me in my bedroom and made Whitley the heir. I felt like doing something with my life, and Blake was already planning in Menagerie to regain her family's control of the White Fang. Her father is the former leader."

"Interesting," Winter said. "And what do you want to do?"

"If we got any of the bounty yesterday, I was hoping to start a Dust company of my own." Winter found it humorous and managed to hold back a smirk. "I'm serious! He can be beaten with cold, hard capitalism. Menagerie is an untapped Dust resource, and after today, if I can build a big enough rapport, I can start something with Blake."

"I apologize for my carelessness." Winter changed her tone, saying, "If you need my help," Winter said, almost winking, "I'll support you for what's just out of reach."

Across the hall, Blake sat with Ilia. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Ilia said.

"I wanted to touch base with you about the last couple days. I think yesterday proved you weren't meant for the recent White Fang's leadership. I hope you and I can go back to the days of when my father ran it."

"Me too," Ilia agreed, reflecting on her time.

"I have to ask you, though. What was that about something happening before last night?"

Ilia was dressed in a hospital gown, and she looked to the side where her combat outfit hung on a rack. "Last night… I mean two nights ago… I, Adam."

Blake turned to Ilia's combat wear, where Ilia fixed her gaze. "Is he responsible for those rips?" Blake deduced.

"Yes."

"Any of your cuts?"

"No."

"Bruises?"

"Yes."

Blake choked up at the thought of what happened to her at the Fall of Beacon not being the worst of Adam's behavior. "He never had any association with you before… What could you have even done to make him want that out of you?"

"Insubordination," Ilia said through new tears. "I was supposed to stay in Menagerie for something but left before it happened. I thought telling him about you would make it better on me."

Blake almost pitied Adam for his further fall from grace. Her empathy for Ilia only grew further since the events of the ship.

"Any excuse he could get…" Blake thought aloud.

She approached Ilia's bed, and the chameleon girl bounced up and wrapped her arms tightly around Blake. "I'm sorry Blake," she began through sniffled tears. "I'm sorry I didn't realize what was happening. I should have left with you on the boat. I shouldn't have spied on you to begin with."

"Ilia, slow down, it's okay now." She rubbed her back. "You can stick around at my house from now on. I'll be there for you." Blake pulled away from Ilia. "When the Vytal Festival happened… and Beacon fell, Adam beat and stabbed me. He tried to kill me too. If you remember Yang from the tournament finals, he also cut off her arm. She has a cybernetic now though, like General Ironwood. Adam has… Adam has done more bad than good in this world. He misguided both of us for some time, but if I learned anything since I've been in Menagerie, it's that the past and help are two things you can't run away from."

"Thank you, Blake," Ilia said as she sat up straight and put more energy into her voice. "He didn't rip your clothes off and _rape_ you, but you're absolutely right. I heard what you told Adam in the warehouse. We need to restore the White Fang to your family. After people hear about what happened in there, they'll come together."

"You think so?" Blake wasn't used to hearing optimism from Ilia.

"If… if people realize this is what happens with hatred… there are already so many people who get it. Adam didn't, and he made me forget for a while too. So many humans know we're their equals."

"They just didn't have an organization to say it with," Blake finished Ilia's thought for her, eliciting a strange look. "You echoed my thoughts from the other day just now. I know there's a high rank in the new White Fang for you, Ilia."

"We'll make good on it."

Yang entered and said, "Hey, Blake." The two shared a hug. Blake felt the grip of Yang's metal arm on her back. And, Julia, is it?"

Ilia rolled her eyes and smiled. "Ilia."

"It's nice to meet you. Blake told me a little about you on the ambulance." Ilia perked up. "You two are a lot alike." Ilia saw the truth in that despite Yang's poor memory.

Blake smiled at the encounter and asked Yang, "How is Weiss doing?"

"She's awake and talking to her sister now, so she's doing fine. I thought I'd stop by."

"How is _that_?" Blake motioned to the new arm. Ilia saw what Blake mentioned earlier.

"It's surprisingly good. I've had plenty of time to train with it. It's weird because I can't sense heat or feel texture, but it still feels like muscles and nerves are in there."

Blake was amazed, but she still went back to her old thoughts. "I'm sorry you have it," she said.

Yang asked, "What are you apologizing for…? You didn't cut my arm off. Blake… Adam wasn't your fault. Nobody could control him. Stop blaming yourself for his actions."

"Yang, I… I'm not. It's just hard to distance myself from him after knowing him for so long. Adam has done so much to me, to Ilia here too, that it's been odd seeing you so cheerful after it."

"Blake…," Yang said, "I'm still greatly affected by it. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I still have flashbacks. I even had one yesterday, and yes, it does still hurt, but that's not it anymore. I couldn't leave the house for a long time, but now they mean something more than pain. They're a reminder of why I'm still fighting."

Blake almost teared up. "You're not so reckless anymore then."

"I may have crashed my bike yesterday," Blake's eyes might as well have rolled all the way around her skull, "but no. That's not why I crashed, and it's fine. It's not broken."

Blake gave a small laugh as she said, "I'm not worried about your motorcycle, silly," and gave Yang a much larger hug. "It's good to have you back."

Yang saw her opportunity for a pun. "I'm not so worried about Bumblebee either if you know what I mean."

Blake broke off from the hug, unable to control her laughter, and said, "Stop before you drive me up the wall with that nonsense."

"That was the problem, Blake. I didn't stop before I drove into the wall!"

"Ugh, I'm so _done_ with you," Blake said in between further laughs. Ilia didn't understand the first joke, but the second one got a good chuckle out of her. That, and Blake's reaction added to the humor.

Blake collected herself from her hyperventilation. "We should go to the other room now. Weiss hasn't seen me since we fought."

"I'm kinda tied down here," Ilia said. She motioned to the blood transfusion and other fluids she was receiving.

Blake helped her into a wheelchair and led her and the fluids to Weiss' room.

"Hello, Weiss," the cat Faunus said.

"There you are, Blake."

"And, ' _Winter_ ,' correct?"

"Yes," the specialist said. "I see you've made progress with the White Fang. Did I hear you are the former leader's daughter?" Blake affirmed. "I wish you well on reorganizing the White Fang. Certainly, after yesterday's events, a rebirth could be successful. You only need a good enough speech. I would join… in the sense of being a follower. I'm needed as a Specialist far too much to be of use, especially with the CCT system offline."

"I was thinking that as well," Blake relayed. "If there's any light to be made of that horrible meeting, it's to condemn their motivation in a way that brings people together. It will be hard, and Menagerie likely still has plenty of Faunus who subscribe to Adam's beliefs, but we can't let it stop us. And maybe after that, we can get to work with that Dust company you were talking about, Weiss."

"Really?"

Yang jumped into the conversation, saying, "Yes. The chief-of-police contacted me after I used the emergency number last night. She met with Blake and me, and we told her we were all involved and that we all wanted you to get the reward. Once you're out, we'll get it to you in a new credit account so your father can't do anything with it. You earned it, sitting where you are."

"Thank you, Yang. That means a lot. Do you know how much will be left on it after the hospital bill?"

Sun said, "With Mistralian health care? You'll still have plenty."

Ilia was surprised at how forward-thinking the Schnees were. In the warehouse, she saw Weiss get injured in her fight for justice with Faunus. Now, the oldest sibling of the Schnees was saying she would join the new White Fang's effort. "I was wrong about both of you," Ilia said. The room looked confused.

"Weiss, Winter, I mean. I've spent so much time against you. The White Fang in general has. Where did we go wrong?"

Weiss replied with, "The men in our lives make us look bad, don't they?"

"Tell me about it," Blake and Ilia said in unison.

"What are you looking at me for?!" Sun beamed. The room couldn't contain its laughter.

"If it makes you feel any better," Blake said, "Ilia and I were thinking about Adam mostly."

"Yeah, well, key word: ' _mostly_ ,' " Sun pouted.


	7. Separate Ways (Kingdoms Apart)

**-Chapter 7: Separate Ways (Kingdoms Apart)-**

A few days later, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Ilia, Sun, and Neptune went back to the Mistralian docks.

Sun still had his crutches. Weiss had a bandage around her midsection. Ilia had it the worst. Her only visible bandage was wrapped on her neck, but she also had bandages wrapped around her upper chest and thighs. Even her Faunus trait, color-changing skin, was healing. She would often change to the wrong color in certain patches and could not change at all in others.

Weiss, Blake, and Ilia stopped in front of their ship back to Menagerie. "And the journey continues…" the cat Faunus said. "Take it easy, Sun. We'll have to be back soon to recruit for the Fang. I wish we could give you notice."

"Don't worry. You're always welcome back."

"It's good to see all of you again," Yang said, "but I have to keep searching for Ruby. She said she's got something important brewing in Mistral now too, but she didn't want to say through mail."

"If you don't find them, Yang, you can always fall back to the SSSN house," Neptune said. He gave her their address, and she reciprocated with gratitude.

"I'll probably end up there tonight," the blond brawler said. "My scroll hasn't been able to reach her yet. I guess the local area is too small."

The ship's horn sounded, signaling a near departure. "It was nice to meet you all," Ilia said. "I hope we can work together soon."

They gave their farewells. Yang went downtown on Bumblebee. Sun and Neptune left in the leader's car. Weiss, Blake, and Ilia left to Menagerie on a commercial ferry.

That night, the three rebels continued their planning on inter-kingdom waters.

"Ilia, where are the remaining White Fang members?" Weiss asked.

"The Menagerie base is on the southeastern coast, where it's fairly lush," Ilia said. "Sure, we dealt with the wildlife and Grimm often, and it's still too arid for farming, but we managed. It's a short travel from Kuo Kuana if you know the route."

"Which I do," Blake said.

Ilia gave a disapproving sound, causing a reaction from Blake. "What? It's been a while. Anyway, most of Adam's supporters followed him. They're a prideful bunch, so they wanted to be a part of the revolution. I was… forced along. I've felt a lot like an outsider looking in with him. You were right about me, Blake. I think Yang was too. We're very similar."

"So, how many sympathizers should we expect at the camp?" Weiss asked.

"The Albain brothers will still be there. I wouldn't be surprised about a decent crowd of followers behind them. It's very hard to kill an idea."

"Beyond them, who is the leadership?" Blake asked.

"That's where it gets foggy," Ilia replied. "Nobody ever thought they'd need that much fallback. I'd assume it would be whomever they wanted."

"And if they never got the chance to restructure…?" Weiss began a thought for someone else to finish.

"It would be even easier to collapse the Fang under itself with them gone," Ilia said, "but they know something is up by now. The schedule was to return to Menagerie yesterday. The CCT is down, so they can't reach out to know what happened, and as far as I know, most of the White Fang is awaiting trial in Mistral for it."

"The White Fang is ripe for us," Blake said. "With Sienna and Adam away, the Albains oversaw the operations in Menagerie, but they may not have taken the reins as full leadership."

"They knew we were going, though," Weiss said. "They could assume we were successful." Blake and Ilia nodded.

Blake added, "Wait until the news gets a hold of the police records. A reporter could have even beaten us back to Menagerie for all we know. It shouldn't be hard to convince people to raise the old blue flag. The Albains could lose their support."

"I think that's a stretch. What if they get the story wrong?" Weiss thought.

"They have a bloody building to go off of, Weiss," Blake said. "And when Yang and I talked to the chief-of-police about your new card, we were interrogated about what we knew. We told her the order of events as far as we knew, but we covered ourselves, you, and Ilia by saying we stumbled upon the massacre and weren't involved. We'll have to testify as witnesses in court when the time comes as to what to do with the survivors, but that's still far off."

"Keep me away from the media," Ilia said. "I've had too much trouble recently. With Adam… and everything after, I don't know if I'm ready for the kind of public attention you two have gotten."

"Don't worry, Ilia," Blake comforted. "You can hole up at my house. The guest room is all yours. Weiss and I don't mind."

Ilia gave a teasing look, "Are you _sure_ Sun wouldn't either?"

Blake groaned at the thought of her and Sun as well as the assertion of her and Weiss. "He is well-meaning and all, but I can't take him seriously if he doesn't with me. He's so oblivious to his actions sometimes."

Ilia continued to tease, "Well, if all the _men_ in your life make you look bad…"

"Ugh, stop it, Ilia," Blake said as she blushed at comments of love life. Weiss gave an eye roll as well. "Go ahead and be into women, but leave it to yourself."

"'Strong,-independent-women-who-don't-need-no-men,' huh, Blake?" Ilia suggested.

"That's us," Blake jumped to agree, brushing off any sexual insecurities.

Weiss didn't want to provoke anything more, but she was thinking about Neptune at that moment. That thought was followed by his haste in flirting with her, however, so she led herself to agree with Ilia's comment for the time being.

The three girls retired to bed overnight on the Mistralian seas and arrived in Kuo Kuana the day after.

* * *

Winter arrived in Atlas, her airship touching down on the military base's rooftop. She made her way to General Ironwood's office.

Ironwood sat behind his desk, five o'clock shadow and cup of coffee adorning him. He hunched over and sifted through documents. "Seven shipping containers sent, but… two received. Who stole this ammo?"

"Greetings, General. Is my timing poor?" Winter said.

"Oh… no!" Ironwood flew back into an upright position. 'Glad to have you back, Specialist," he said. "It's a pleasant surprise to see you in person. I take it you see your mission over?"

"Affirmative, sir."

"Very well, what is your report?"

"The criminal underworld of Mistral, or specifically the White Fang organization in this case, sought to attack Haven Academy. About a week ago, the man most responsible for these efforts, Adam Taurus, previously connected to the fall of Beacon Academy as we now know, attempted to gain power during a meeting in the outskirts of Mistral as a stepping stone for the attack on Haven. The conference of leaders was brief before he and his insurgents began to attack those higher than Taurus.

"Most interestingly, Hazel Rainart was also present."

Ironwood was visibly shaken. "In what way was Hazel involved, Schnee?"

"Despite being previously unconnected to the organization, the man was fighting Sienna Khan, the White Fang leader, alongside Taurus. I was unable to secure Hazel, sir. He fled to the north. I do not know of his intentions, but I believe he will remain connected to the organization henceforth."

"How did the insurgence play out?"

"Forces belonging to Khan also arrived to counter Taurus. In the ensuing fight, both Khan and Taurus died, and the remaining members of the organization in attendance were either wounded or fallen. They are awaiting a trial now. The White Fang is broken, but it may collect itself in time." Winter took care to leave Weiss and her friends out of the story.

"Truly momentous events. I'm disappointed the CCT failure is preventing the world from knowing as quickly as it could. Thank you for your efforts, Schnee. Good work. That shall be all to converse about for business."

"Yes, sir," Winter said, turning to exit before Ironwood stopped her.

"I do have another question for you if you don't mind us speaking in jest."

"Yes, General?"

"A few weeks ago, your sister was reported missing from her home," Ironwood said, removing himself from the story. "Evidence suggested her breaking out. May you have any knowledge of her intentions?" Winter took her time to answer. "You don't look surprised."

"I was in contact with Weiss after the failed insurgence. She and a few of her friends were present in the fighting, but they were not involved with either party."

"Is that so? Did any of them sustain injuries?"

"Yes, but they are recovering, sir."

Ironwood shifted to a lighthearted tone of voice. "Did you speak with her and her friends?"

"Yes. Weiss and her company intend to continue their work against the White Fang. As I've been told, one of them used to be fairly important to the organization, and Weiss hoped to help her take control of it once more."

This confirmed what Ironwood saw weeks before. "Fighting for a return to the original White Fang? Thank you, Winter. Is there anything else you wish to say?"

She searched her thoughts before remembering Yang. "Miss Xiao Long was present. She wished to pass her gratitude for the cybernetic arm you gifted her. She said she was most thankful you already made one before her father pressed you about it,"

"Ah, I'm glad to hear." Ironwood finished his conversational tone, now switching back to the business dialogue they had. "I'm grateful for your news today. I look forward to your extended written report on your time in Mistral. It will be a good resource for Mistral's legal system in determining the fate of the White Fang members in custody. You are dismissed." He initiated a salute, and Winter reciprocated before leaving.

 _Oh, Taiyang_ , Ironwood thought to himself. _He didn't have to present it like that. She very well deserved it for her actions defending Beacon, but Taiyang deserves more credit. It was a gift, but he pressed me before I had it made._

* * *

Weiss, Blake, and Ilia arrived at the Belladonna house and lifted the doorknocker.

A few moments later, Ghira opened the door, sounding as if he rushed from the other side of the large house. "Hello, girls, and…"

"Ilia, sir," the chameleon girl said. "It's good to meet you."

"Ilia…" Ghira trailed off. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Perhaps Blake mentioned it?"

"That's no matter. Please, come in, you three. I don't mean to keep you outside." They made their way through the entrance hall, and Ghira called out, "Kali, you were right," loud enough for her to hear.

Blake's mother entered and said, "Well of course I'm right when she mailed she was on her way. It's good to see you again, dears- Oh… are you all okay?" Kali noticed Weiss and Ilia's bandages. Ilia set down what belongings she had to the side of the door.

"Yes, ma'am- Kali," Weiss spoke. "We'll be alright. For what happened at the meeting, this was nothing. Sun broke his leg, though, so he stayed home in Mistral. This is nothing our Aura can't fix."

"And who is your friend?"

"Hello, ma'am. I'm Ilia."

Blake told her parents, "We've known of each other since before the change in leadership, but it wasn't until a couple days ago we reconciled. She was at the meeting, which… we have a lot to talk about."

"I'm always happy to see a new friend here," Ghira said before silently sighing in relief at the lack of Sun.

"I'll go make us some tea," Kali said. "Ilia, dear, would you rather have coffee?"

"Whatever is easier for you is fine with me."

"Please, sit yourselves. I'll be back with the drinks."

Weiss, Blake, Ilia, and Ghira sat at the low-sitting dinner table. "What happened at the meeting? Was Adam Taurus successful?" the chieftain asked.

"No, Dad," Blake started. "He, Sienna Khan, and many operatives didn't make it out of the meeting alive." Blake and Ilia had nearly blank expressions. "I killed him."

Ghira was shocked at this, and he meant to say something but indicated he was choosing words carefully. He said, "I'm proud of you three. Blake, you and Ilia especially for confronting your demons even when they're seeming to show their teeth more than they ever have."

"Thank you, sir," Ilia said. "It was very difficult, but we had a call to action."

"That must be the case. And 'Ghira' is fine," he told Ilia.

"We'll have to testify in the case, but it's still a few weeks away," Weiss said.

"And until then?" Ghira asked.

"Until then," Blake said, "we finish taking back the White Fang. They're still based somewhere in Menagerie, and they have little leadership structure left. The world will be glad we did it once they hear what happened."

"I wish you girls the best," Ghira said. "I have meetings with the Menagerie Council in a half hour, so I must go prepare the documents necessary. I will be sure to pass along your news."

"Is that open to the public?" Ilia asked.

"Yes, it is," Ghira said, causing a worried reaction on the chameleon girl. "Is there a problem?"

Ilia fleshed out her logic, saying, "Members of the White Fang may attend as they have before, maybe from Adam's faction. They will report that a third party got involved and changed the outcome, and they know enough back here without the CCT to point fingers at us."

"Not you," Blake said. "You're in trouble for leaving early, but they don't know you're on the outs now. You could still play a double agent."

Ilia tilted her head a few times in thought, and she answered, "You're right- I could. Either way, if we're going to take control of the organization, we'll have to do it tonight."

"Are you sure about that?" Ghira asked, his usual serious tone he'd used against Corsac and Fennec Albain at times.

"Dad, you need to give the news of the White Fang today. We'll have to make due with our options because of that. Go get ready. We have to too."

Kali came with the tea and said, "Such drive you three have. I remember in my days, I wanted to get everyone off this island so badly, but I couldn't help and feel like it was home."

"That's us," the former heiress said. "Strong women. Fighting our battles and dealing with the Grimm in our spare time."

"Oh, don't embellish like that," the mother said. "I'll leave you to your works. I found something to preoccupy myself with for a while." With that, Kali headed toward the front door.

As Ghira departed to retrieve what he needed, Ilia chased after him and said, "One last thing. If you can, get some policemen to go to the east end of the marketplace."

"I will do so, Ilia," he said. "A word of advice, don't harm anyone tonight unless by self-defense. You'll fail your objective and compromise your freedom so long as police are involved." He turned back up the stairs.

"Yes, sir."

"I hope Menagerie isn't too lax with its police force," Weiss said as Ilia returned. "Atlas can't get enough of one, but it doesn't discourage some people."

The chameleon responded with insight from her background, "When you know how the laws are enforced, it's not hard to break them no matter who you're up against."

The three girls got to work. From her father's study, Blake retrieved a sheet large enough to drape over every side of the dining table.

"Let's start with… how do we get there?" Weiss said.

"The path we used was on the eastern end of the marketplace," Ilia began as she drew on the sheet. "It's next to a vendor who's a Fang member. It's mostly a path through the jungle until it thins out to the camp, situated on a cliff overlooking the southern beach. You can see it from the hill in front of this house." She saw Blake's surprise at her familiarity of the rock formation. "It can't be an evil gathering spot if you see it every day, huh? Exactly."

"The ranking confines of the compound are on the north end, shielded most from the open view." Ilia continued to draw a map. "Smaller structures are to the south, the idea being they're hard to see regardless. The camp is just above the tree line since palms don't grow too high up. That means you'll have to hide with disguises. Blake, you should be able to fit in with a mask on, but the brothers will know it's you. Weiss…" Ilia thought for a solid ten seconds on her cover before saying, "Blake can get you a uniform and mask from storage."

"Blake and I will back while you're playing your part," Weiss said. "We still have the earpieces we used at the warehouse. They fit into the ear canal, so they're unassuming. You can direct us from wherever if necessary."

"Good. Corsac and Fennec were supposed to meet with Adam after his hopeful victory when he'd have gotten back two days ago. When I arrive, there's no doubt they'll question why I'm the only one who's come back, and so late at that."

"We'll have to stay pretty close then," Blake figured.

"Right you are. I'll know how to navigate the base. Don't lose sight of me, but make sure Corsac and Fennec can't see you."

"Sounds so easy," Weiss feigned sarcasm.

The ex-Fang members responded in unison, "Who said it would be?"

"Let's get going."


	8. The Product of Insurgency

**-Chapter 8: The Product of Insurgency-**

"If you don't find them, Yang, you can always fall back to the SSSN house," Neptune said. He gave her their address, and she reciprocated with gratitude.

"I'll probably end up there tonight," the blond brawler said. "My scroll hasn't been able to reach her yet. I guess the local area is too small."

They gave their farewells. Yang went downtown on Bumblebee. Sun and Neptune left in the leader's car. Weiss, Blake, and Ilia left to Menagerie on a commercial ferry.

As Yang rode her bike in search of Ruby and the others, her scroll beeped a sound she didn't recognize. "ONYX ALERT" it said.

"INCOMING GRIMM THREAT. LEVEL TWO."

A map of Mistral appeared below, giving her a route from her location to the Grimm threat, opposite the western border wall. " _At least it's only level two_ ," Yang thought. " _It's not serious enough for the sirens. Just for an alert for huntresses to take care of it._ " She went on her way.

She passed the site of the insurgence meeting and reached the western wall. Other huntsmen and huntresses beat her there and were fighting nevermores, beowolves, large bats, and many others. The bats were a large nuisance, primarily using a screech attack. Yang got to work.

After a few minutes, she heard the unmistakable sound of bolt, shot, bolt, shot, transform, etc. She turned to see Ruby, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Qrow, and Oscar, who she only knew as a short, dark-skinned boy around Ruby's age. They also responded to the call to action. Oscar sat atop the wall as the rest went further to start fighting. Yang met up with them, but they saved conversation for later as they fought.

The low threat level was cleared very quickly after Mistral's huntsmen and huntresses showed up en masse. No Grimm broke into the city.

"Yang!" Ruby said as she used her semblance to hit Yang into the ground with a hug. "What is that?!" Ruby was ogling the cybernetic limb she didn't know about. She still had Yang pinned to the ground. "It's so cool! Can it do anything else?"

Yang couldn't help but laugh at her weapon-phile sister. Ruby started messing with the elbow to see how it bends, so Yang detached the arm to mess around. "OOOOH I'm so sorry!" Ruby panicked as she got up and held Yang's arm.

"Easy there, Ruby. It feels real, so it can hurt. It's good to see you too. Check this out." She remote-controlled her detached arm to mess with Ruby's hair, only eliciting another squeal. "And all of you. It's been so long." Ruby gave the arm back.

Jaune, Nora, and Ren gave their greetings. "It's great seeing you on your feet," Nora said.

"We heard it's been hard on you too," Jaune said.

"That's an understatement. And what's your name?" She turned to Oscar.

"Oscar," the young boy said. "It's kind of a long story. Ruby said she wrote about me in a letter to you…" Oscar ended the sentence as if it were a question.

"Actually, no," Yang said. "I didn't get any letters after the one where she said you all arrived."

"It's quite the long story. You're going to want to hear it," Qrow said. "We'll have to go back to our house first though."

Jaune turned to look at the now barren field the Grimm evaporated from. "What caused all of this?"

"Remember?" Nora said. "That 'White Fang suicide' meeting."

Yang sighed.

"What's wrong, Yang?"

"I'll have to show you." She led them to Stage 5. "This happened a couple days ago. It was White Fang against themselves, but don't call it a suicide. _Oh!_ "

"What, Yang?" They entered the warehouse. The scattered flames were gone, but the forensics crew remained on the scene, examining the blood patterns and white tape resembling the remains.

"I probably should have mentioned. Weiss and Blake were in Mistral earlier today. We fought here together to try and take our own control, but it escalated far beyond what they expected. The leader died, and Blake killed Adam. They left to Menagerie."

"What?! We missed them?" Ruby screamed in disappointment.

"They will be back soon, don't worry. They're continuing to fight the White Fang. Doing pretty well for themselves too. I stayed behind to try and catch up with you guys."

Yang explained the fight as best she could, including Winter, Ilia, and damage to her friends. "So that's me. That's what I've been through, and Ruby told me all about your journey. How about you, Qrow?"

"Same old. Keeping everyone safe," Qrow said. "But they saved my ass too. You should have seen the Grimm they killed."

"Demonic horse person," Ruby said. "I've got you beat on the craziest-Grimm-I've-killed game!"

"Dang. I'll have to keep up," Yang said as she admired the effort.

* * *

Night fell as Weiss, Blake, Ilia, and Menagerie Police Captain Ivory, whom they called for, approached the White Fang outpost. Captain Ivory had elephant tusks protruding from her lower jaw.

"Okay," Ilia said. "That's it." They arrived atop the tree line, no longer able to hide. "I'll go ahead. Blake, stay a bit behind. Weiss and Captain Ivory, hang back. We'll signal you later if Blake can't get disguises. Don't forget about the earphones."

"Of course," Weiss said.

"This is certainly different from where I remember the Fang being," Blake noted.

"Well," Ilia said, "when your existence attracts the Grimm, you have to relocate every so often."

"I can call for backup if necessary," Captain Ivory said. "Don't blow your cover if you want to keep this easy."

"Yes, ma'am," Ilia said. Blake and Ilia disappeared into the huddles of tents.

"Ilia, isn't this a bit off?" Blake said. "Nobody is here."

"People are here, Blake. They're just not outside. The weather is fine, so you're right, that's not normal. But you can't just look at the front room of a tent and say nobody is in the whole thing. Curfew isn't for another hour though."

Weiss said, "Don't forget about us."

"I wouldn't," Ilia said. "Blake, do you see that larger tent over there? That's our storage. If anyone is there, sneak past them. Extra uniforms are in the far-left corner. They should be baggy enough that Weiss can throw one on over her clothes."

Captain Ivory periodically answered her police radio. A few minutes passed, and Blake used her semblance to propel herself around the storage room without being spotted. She retrieved a uniform for Weiss and left unseen. Ilia continued her way to the Albain tent.

"I'm inside the tent," the chameleon said. "The rooms are clear so far." She was silent for another twenty seconds. "They're not here."

"Of course, they aren't," Blake said. "All of the members in storage were dozing off, and they're the only ones we've seen since we showed up." Blake had since made her way back to Weiss and the police captain. "What does this mean for us?" Blake asked the elephant faunus.

"It means," her radio buzzed again, and she paused to answer it. "What?" She turned to look at Kuo Kuana from the rocky heights they were at. "Oh, I see. I have back-up." She looked at Weiss and Blake. "Thank you, I'll be there." Ivory ended the transmission. She took a deep breath and answered Blake's question. "It means they're in Kuo Kuana stirring up trouble. Your father was in a meeting in _that_ building."

The building was on fire, the only source of light coming from Blake's hometown. "Ilia, get back here," the cat faunus said sharply. "We have to go. The town is in danger." They could hear faint screams and Grimm roars. "It's time to run toward the chaos again." Weiss tossed the White Fang uniform aside with the change in plans.

"On my way," Ilia said, and she sprinted to the entrance. As she got back, Ilia mentioned, "We should at least check to see if the whole unit is in town or a few with the Albains."

"I know how to do that," Blake said, everyone now hiding in the trees. She transformed her weapon to the pistol form before firing toward the field of large tents. Several faunus came outside in anger, some only in confusion, but most tents remained silent. "We need to go, now."

They returned to the village after more of a scene began. Menagerie's houses are wooden, so the fire spread considerably through the crammed residential area around the Belladonna house. Citizens clogged the surrounding courtyard, stuck in their grief.

Grimm were pouring out of the forest, and a large, crablike Grimm surfaced from the ocean. Many of them congregated on the beaches, but some were near Blake's house. Some of the people who live in the nearby Menagerie outback and often fight the wildlife came to help the crowded families. "Ilia and I can take care of the Grimm," Weiss said. "You two should investigate the White Fang."

"I know where your father is," Ivory said. "Follow me." She and Blake went into the business district. Weiss and Ilia went to the coast to fight the monsters.

The police captain and Blake traveled through a few alleys. "They took your father away from the building. He's fighting them off with some officers, but it's looking like what happened in Mistral a couple days ago. They're on the edge of the forest."

When the two arrived, they saw Ghira fighting Corsac and Fennec at once. Ghira's weapon was a double-sided spear capable of extending outward from both ends to become five times its original length. The Albain brothers each fought with White Fang-issued rifles and short-swords.

Ghira kept his spear in the collapsed form for most of the fight as Menagerie officers stood by. Blake came from nowhere into the fight with her ribbon. She threw the gun side at Corsac's leg. As it wrapped around, she remote-fired it, tripping the tailed faunus.

She jumped to a tree limb and fired it again, causing Corsac to hang upside down by his feet over the tree limb. She tied the gun around the limb, allowing the Menagerie officers to take hold of him.

"Come on, Fennec," Blake said. "Stand down." Fennec held a defensive stance, looking around at everyone. Corsac started to panic from his position in the air. The tree broke under his weight. He collapsed onto the ground, and as Blake, Ghira, and the police looked at Corsac, Fennec escaped into the lush jungle.

"Ugh," Blake groaned. "Are you okay, Dad?"

"I'll be fine. There is still much work to be done," Ghira said. "We must help out on the shores."

Weiss and Ilia were still fighting the Grimm. Nevermores, beowolves, and ursai had become easy targets for them, but the giant crab Grimm proved to be the biggest threat. It stood at twice Weiss' height- she was as tall as one of its eight legs. Its two arms were the same length, ending in pincers also around six feet. Its bone plates covered most of its body. Only its joints and underbelly were boneless, but its pincers protected its belly.

Weiss propelled into the air with a glyph. Once she was in the crab's reach, it knocked her to the ground with ease. Kuo Kuana's citizens watched Weiss and Ilia fight as they hugged the nearby wooden structures too distant from anything flammable to burn.

"You focus on its legs," Weiss said as she stood up. "I'll distract it for you, and I'll see what I can do about its arms." Ilia nodded. The crab was brutish. It was not very mobile because it had to move eight legs under heavy weight, but its pincers could reach anything. If they immobilized it, its arms could only reach its front.

Weiss distracted the Grimm from the front as Ilia stayed to the rear, focusing on its right legs. The chameleon used her whip-gun to trap a leg at a joint as its pincer crashed into the ground nearby. The heat of the Dust combined with the suffocating constriction made easy work of the leg. As Ilia pulled back, it broke off and disintegrated.

Weiss, flying like an acrobat from glyph to glyph, tried to out-maneuver the crab's pincers. Ilia used this time to cut another leg off, disorienting the crab. Weiss came down from the air, but she missed the arm joint. The crab trapped her in the sand underneath a claw, and the other one came barreling toward her until Ilia cut yet another leg off, causing it to miss.

From her position, Weiss shot fire Dust at a joint on the crab's free arm. In pain, the crustacean Grimm took a few steps back, and Weiss was freed to stand up yet again. She flew across the air, and this time, she used a glyph to block a pincer as she reached the ground before jabbing its belly. Ilia cut off the fourth leg, and now all the Grimm's right legs were gone.

It was lopsided, and its left arm was weak after the fire Dust hit. "Stay on its left," Ilia said. "Keep moving if you have to." Weiss nodded in approval. Once more, she used glyphs to stay in the air, and she used a gravity glyph to block a pincer and lock it in place.

As Weiss landed, she kept the Grimm's attention. It followed her with its other arm, and Weiss said, "Ilia, cut that one off!" Ilia wrapped her weapon around the weakest joint and heated the Dust before pulling back. The arm fell to the ground, knocking sand into the air. The crab screamed in pain and anger.

"Weiss, same thing with the other arm," Ilia said, preoccupied by the Grimm's attention. "He'll slice my weapon if his pincer is free." She dodged as it stabbed the ground.

"Keep moving," Weiss said. "I'll trap it for you. Hit the underside."

The next time the crab lunged an arm at the ground, Weiss kept it in place with a glyph, along with its four remaining legs. "Now!"

Ilia got under the Grimm with her weapon in its compact form. She aimed upwards and extended the whip, fully penetrating the crab beast and becoming long enough to poke through the armor plating on its back. As its legs gave out, Weiss saved Ilia before it fell atop her. Ilia retrieved her weapon after the Grimm disintegrated around it.

The surrounding citizens, some of them now homeless, cheered and shed tears of joy at the sight of the scariest Grimm dying. A little boy with bear ears even came to hug Weiss and say, "You are totally awesome!" It was strange for Weiss, partially because he was only tall enough to hug her waist, but also because she'd worried for her safety in the birthplace of the White Fang's villainous party. She patted his back in response.

Ilia smiled at the encounter as Weiss said, "What's your name?"

"Bruin."

"I'm Weiss, and I think you're totally awesome too."

Bruin's mother was close, and Weiss detailed her situation with an awkward smile. The mother called for Bruin, and he rushed back. She gave Weiss an approving smile and nod and led him back to their home.

Blake and Ghira arrived at the beach. "Nice job, you two," Blake said. "And nice comment, Weiss. I didn't know you had it in you." Blake smirked at her half-joke.

"Yeah, well," Weiss tried to find the words. "Well, his smile was too cute for me to be rude. And I've been grappling with my image since I got here a couple weeks ago. It's anxious being a human here. Now I understand why you wore the bow in Vale."

"Turns out," Blake said, "that kid was right about you. Thank you."

"This isn't over," Ghira said. "The first-response efforts are still containing the fire the Albains started. Can you help?" The three girls agreed, and they headed to the relief effort, using water Dust to combat the flames.

* * *

"Sir, I have important news," Klein said, handing Jacques a newspaper as he entered the father's office. The front cover depicted a warehouse with both flames and bodies scattering the floor. The headline read, " _White Fang civil war in Mistral; many injured and dead._ "

"So what?" Jacques said as if it verified his feelings. "It's hard to see what's so surprising about it. This shows how much the _White Fang_ really doesn't know what they are doing. They can't even get one agenda straight."

"Sir, it is more than that," the butler said. "And your daughters also appear in this article."

"In the picture, or?" Jacques said with an odd slight cheer as he searched the dead bodies for a face he could recognize.

Klein rolled his eyes and said, "No, sir. The police and a few reporters interviewed them. I underlined the parts about them for you. It appears both were present for the fight."

Jacques read to himself every quote Klein underlined. " _According to Weiss Schnee, former heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the fight surrounded two factions of the White Fang as one attempted to gain power over the other… Winter Schnee, an Atlesian special operative, said Hazel Rainart was also present at the meeting-turned-bloody. Why Rainart was there is unknown, but the man continues to be wanted across Remnant… The Schnee sisters are confirmed to be a third party in this event. Neither is to be tried in court for their actions in the old warehouse, but both will testify as witnesses."_

Jacques was fuming at the article, his face almost as red as his pocket's handkerchief. "What am I going to do about this!? They're both delusional," he wondered aloud. "Winter must be in Atlas now. She'll be hearing from me." There was a knock at the office door. "Whitley, come in."

"Greetings, Father," the noodly, youngest Schnee said. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes, son. It was about a business meeting, but that is no matter. Read what Klein just gave to me."


	9. Rebuilding What Was Lost

**-Chapter 9: Rebuilding What Was Lost-**

The night continued to get older in Menagerie after the White Fang failed their coup. The fire relief effort finished, and many of Menagerie's newly homeless continued to crowd the Belladonnas' courtyard.

Kali remained in the house, and Ghira, Weiss, Blake, and Ilia returned home through the crowd, knowing they would need to speak.

"I have surprises for you girls," Kali said as she fetched them from a room over. She came back and displayed three outfits. "Get changed, quick," she said.

"Menagerie fashion?" Weiss held her new dress in adoration. It was not too formal, but as is common in Menagerie, it was a loose fitting, simply designed dress made of only a few large pieces of blue and white cloth. "I like it," she said. Blake received a similar one but with black, white, and purple colors to suit her.

Ilia received the outfit she wore both the night Adam abused her and the night Adam died. "The rips and tears are all gone," Ilia said. "That's so sweet of you, Kali. You didn't just sew them back together. How did you completely remove their existence?"

"It was nothing," Kali said, yet again continuing her humble nature. "I removed the cut and ripped patches and sewed identical ones on."

"You made identical patches of the exact same material?" Ilia said. Kali nodded as if it were a small feat.

Weiss and Blake finished their outfit change. "This looks great," Weiss said of her dress. They shared a quick hug. "Thank you, Kali."

Weiss, Blake, and Ghira left the house, returning to the citizens who waited and crowded the Belladonna home's surrounding hillside. "Think about how you want to phrase everything. I'll buy you some time and set you up," Ghira said.

He approached the meager sound system and lectern Kali prepared. They would do this for any address Ghira gave as chieftain, so Kali only had to connect one outlet and move the lectern out front.

First, Ghira had to explain the night's events. "Hello, everybody. Today, the White Fang attempted a coup while the chief members of our society gathered for a regular meeting. This was caused in part by their actions in Mistral. A week ago today, Adam Taurus of the extremist White Fang Vale branch attempted to overthrow Sienna Khan as leader in Mistral's outskirts. However, Khan provided forces to clash Adam, and neither side was successful. Taurus and Khan were pronounced dead, along with hundreds of faunus on each side. The Fang wanted some semblance of power, and their failure in Mistral caused their attempt here.

"The Albain brothers were left in control of the Fang in Menagerie. They have been sympathizers of Taurus for some time and wished to take control of Menagerie before I could spread word of the Mistral events in tonight's meeting. They failed, and they had far more collateral damage on Menagerie than they intended. However, we are still to treat them for being extremist ideologues as they have demonstrated. Corsac Albain is now in custody, but Fennec remains at large.

"Along with their actions in Mistral and tonight came a wave of Grimm. The Grimm have been more prevalent in Menagerie the last couple years than ever before, and tonight shall be their last hurrah. The White Fang is the reason for harboring and spreading the emotions that brought them here. I understand the White Fang has become harsher in their focus since I left, and I am sure many of you here are members.

"To be clear, I do not want to alienate any White Fang members in attendance today. You are incredible members of our society and likely unaware that the White Fang has changed for the worse as we've seen tonight. I wish to extend a hand to you. The White Fang shall be what I intended all those years ago- the uniting force of Menagerie, reaching out to unite the world in equality for every person, human or faunus.

"I know many of you see it this exact same way, but Taurus did not. He believed equality is impossible and that the only hope for faunuskind is subjecting humans as they have subjected us. This is no society to live in no matter how comparatively easy it is to achieve. Ours is the long fight, the painful fight, and the slow fight, but most importantly, it is the peaceful fight.

"As such, effective immediately, Menagerie recognizes the former, blue White Fang flag as the official one. After all, we are the home of their headquarters. We shall ensure our safety from the Grimm by not harboring extremists any longer. I shall not be reinstating myself as high leader. That title now belongs my daughter Blake. She is responsible for the death of Adam Taurus last week. Alongside her friends, she halted the White Fang from Taurus' lofty goals after the death of High Leader Sienna Khan.

"This will not come without resistance. The other kingdoms have yet to hear about what happened here tonight. Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale will be surprised to receive the news, but many will be on board as they already know how high the death toll was in Mistral.

"In the coming days, I will carry out the White Fang reform across this island. My daughter will travel across Remnant to uphold the changes. I will now welcome to the front, Blake, as the first of two who will speak beside me."

Blake came up front to face the courtyard and hills packed with faunus.

"Thank you, Father," Blake began. "For a year, I studied in Vale at Beacon Academy. I wore a bow around my cat ears every day, even while I slept, so I would be treated equally. I had several encounters with the Vale branch of the Fang.

"First, they stole Schnee Dust Company cargo. Then, my team and I intercepted a train that White Fang used to lead Grimm into Vale from the failed expansion of Mountain Glenn. Finally, I fought them as they injured innocent civilians and released Grimm into Beacon Academy when the Vytal Festival Tournament suffered a terrorist attack. Vale is still recovering and continues to be a kingdom, but Beacon Academy is covered in ruins and Grimm.

"I've seen the worst of the White Fang, but I've also seen the best. I saw sparks happening before Sienna Khan took over. That's when it ended. That's when we started subjugating the Schnee Dust Company instead of carrying out an honest boycott. That's when we served justice for few instead of justice for all. We need a return to form. We need a White Fang made of faunus _and_ humans. Equal representation means equal results instead of something that will only breed further hostility to our kind.

"As my father said, many of you were unaware of these events. It is sometimes easy to discredit the media for spinning too much of a yarn out of what happens. During my time as leader, I will travel to every kingdom, and I will face quite the hostility from the established branches, but with your support, faunus can stop repeating the same mistake and calling it progress.

"We did not deserve to be pushed aside to an island after the Great War, but many faunus are enjoying freedom and even status in every kingdom. The leader of Vacuo is a female ram faunus. Let's not forget that. The White Fang has fought as if they were still fighting for that level of status. We are so close to achieving equality. We only need to focus on the right thresholds.

"One of these thresholds is in Atlas. The Schnee Dust Company continues to profit from the mistreatment of faunus workers, many of whom were born and raised here and are family to you. Without these discriminatory actions, the SDC would not be a profitable company. One of the first actions the reestablished White Fang will take is to shift the moral arc of the company.

"To speak about how this is possible, I have one of my best friends from my time in Vale. She is a human, and we have had many disagreements, but I have seen more improvement in her than anyone else in regards to views on faunus rights. She is from Atlas, but she is now a full resident of Menagerie. We fought side by side at the fall of Beacon. Some of you saw her fight to defend Menagerie against the Grimm here tonight. She knows the inner workings of the Schnee Dust Company better than anyone ever could, and she is ready to right Jacques Schnee, her father. She is Weiss Schnee, and she is the perfect person to make Menagerie relevant to the world."

Weiss stepped forth and motioned to speak. Before she did, she noticed many people in the crowd having negative reactions to her. They were each silenced by the curious patrons of Menagerie.

"Please, it's alright," Weiss opened. "I do not blame you for your reactions. I would like to open by saying I am no longer involved with the SDC. A few months ago, my father revoked my status as heiress and locked me away in my room after I moved back in. He realized I would not serve his interest, so he executed his control as my father to keep his image and his legacy as intact as possible.

"I will do everything to ensure you that I am on your side. I want to start a Menagerie Dust Company. Like the SDC, it will have many faunus workers, but unlike that company, it will be founded on the idea of equality across Remnant. We will search for Dust in Menagerie, the only place in the developed world nobody has ever looked for it.

"I _know_ it is out there. When we find it, we can give my father a run for his money. The Schnee Dust Company is running out of supply. The world has seen Dust get expensive these past two years with that shortage. I went to the mines when I was heiress. I know what they used to look like and what they look like now. If I see the same potential as the SDC used to have but _here_ in Menagerie, we can update the business model and easily take over store shelves around the world.

"As Blake said, this is in conjunction with the White Fang. I know my appearance resembles the corruption of old money, but you will not see any of my father's practices here. The SDC is one of the biggest reasons the northern kingdom moved from Mantle to Atlas eighty years ago. Similarly, heavy business success will boost the economy here and change the view of Menagerie to the world.

"For the past month, I have focused every ounce of my being on justice against my father. That begins with establishing faunus as equal citizens under the practice of the law across all of Remnant. The Menagerie Dust Company will do that. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks after I gather the power necessary to make Eastern Menagerie a viable place for what I'll call the MDC and any residential expansion Menagerie could need. Thank you." Weiss left the lectern, and Ghira came back to the front.

"Now, to get back to current business. Rebuilding the damaged parts of Kuo Kuana will be no easy task," Ghira said. "I will personally spearhead these efforts. Effective tomorrow, we will cut a portion of the nearby forest for its lumber and replant it for our posterity's sake. Any of the houses affected by tonight's fire shall be rebuilt. Anyone willing to participate for a small wage in any part of this process may return here tomorrow morning. We will have tables set up across this courtyard to organize the effort.

"For now, I ask that in times like this, we must embrace each other, lest we entice the Grimm. Please, return home and house those who cannot. Have a good night. I hope to see you tomorrow. Menagerie will not halt."

Ghira, Weiss, and Blake went back inside, and Menagerie went to rest before coming together as one the next morning.

* * *

"So there are four powerful women, Cinder is one of them, and someone is looking for an artifact at Beacon that is supremely powerful?" Yang recapped.

"Yep, that's it," Ruby said. Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Qrow, and Oscar sat in the living room of the home Qrow rented.

"Ehhhh," Qrow noised. The sound got strange looks from RNJR, Ruby especially, after recalling him declining about anything else at the campfire.

"What is it?" Jaune asked, almost accusingly.

"Relax, Jaune, it's not about the maidens or the relics," Jaune said. Qrow was standing, and he pointed down at Oscar next to him as he sat.

"Oscar?" Ruby asked. The boy had a panicked look. He appeared to search for something to say while listening to someone else.

"Don't worry," Qrow said to Oscar. "I got this." He sat down and took another drink from his flask. "Think back to the story about the maidens-"

"So it is about the Maidens."

"Hush, Jaune. Just let me talk. Remember the wizard? If he gave the four maidens supreme powers, he had quite the same himself. He didn't give it all up that day. That power works the same. When the wizard dies, a young boy inherits his power. Ozpin was that young boy once."

"What does that have to do with...?" Nora asked, but she trailed off after assuming the answer.

"Long story short, it's two things. Oscar here is that boy now. I gave him Ozpin's cane, but it will be a while before he can use it- or his powers for that matter- well. That, and Salem won't find the relic because it's in Ozpin's cane."

The room looked at Oscar. He was frightened at others learning his secret. Qrow encouraged him, saying, "Relax, kid. Other people have been through way weirder things before."

Oscar spoke for the first time in a while. "I highly doubt it. You get to keep your thoughts to yourself. If I'm not talking to anyone, he can still hear me."

"So Ozpin is… in you?" Yang asked.

"Yes," Oscar said, nearly defeated. He breathed out and sat farther back on the couch. "For most of this year, I've had an old headmaster sharing my brain. It sucks." Half a second later, Oscar rolled his eyes to one of Ozpin's comments.

"At least Ozpin isn't… completely dead," Nora said.

"I've gotta warn you, Oscar," Qrow began. "Keep eye contact when you talk to people. If the wrong people start guessing, we're all in trouble." He turned to everyone else. "We've got to get to Lionheart now. He'll be waiting for us." Ruby shook her fists in excitement as everyone stood up and prepared to leave.

They arrived a half hour later at Haven Academy's central building. When they walked in, Qrow was the first to notice Arthur Watts leaving they elevator they would be taking. Qrow gave darting glances around the room, touched Ruby's shoulder, and disappeared.

Ruby turned to where Qrow used to be, not seeing the crow on the floor. Jaune recognized Watts as the creator of scrolls, but when his socially awkward staring got the man's attention, he acted dismissively toward Jaune and walked out the building a separate way.

The young adults stepped into the elevator before noticing Qrow's absence. He reappeared unsuspectingly behind them in the elevator, having transformed back from his crow form.

During the vertical journey to Lionheart's office, Ruby said, "I'm glad we noticed you were gone before we pushed any buttons. We would have left you down there."

"Heh, right," Qrow said, pretending to agree. "I'm glad Watts didn't notice your silver eyes _or_ take an interest in Oscar. He's as bad news as Tyrian."


	10. Joining Forward

**-Chapter 10: Joining Forward-**

Four days after their meeting with Lionheart, Team RNJR, Yang, Qrow, and Oscar watched the news at their home in Mistral.

"In the wake of the horrible events surrounding the White Fang here in Mistral and even Menagerie this past Monday," the Vox News TV anchor said, "Menagerie has dictated a change in the organization's leadership. I'm about to sit down with special guests to talk about their plans for its future. The new leader is Blake Belladonna, daughter of the leader who stepped down six years ago. She and former SDC heiress Weiss Schnee are with me- _when we come back_."

The local station shocked Ruby and Yang. Weiss and Blake _are in Mistral_. "You're kidding me!" Ruby said, flailing her arms a little. "Weiss and Blake are here again, and you GO TO COMMERCIAL!" She pouted and fell into the couch, slouching far enough for only her head to lean against the back. She felt teased, bait-and-switched.

"Well, I'm happy for you," Nora said. "It's not like we can't find them- don't forget."

"Is it live?" Yang asked Qrow.

The old bird was feeling buzzed, so he didn't pay attention. "Huh?"

"Is the news broadcast live?" Yang gestured with her cybernetic.

"Yes," Ren answered for Qrow, knowing the futility Yang faced.

"That means they're still at the Vox News studio," Yang said. With that, she sprung to her feet and grabbed Ruby's arm from where she lay haphazardly on the couch. "I passed it on my way to finding you guys. I know where that is. Come on, let's go find them," she told her younger sister.

"But I want to see what they're up toooo! It's almost back on!" Ruby wasn't letting Yang move her. She continued to lie limp across the couch.

"That's it," Yang said. She changed to hold Ruby with her robot limb and pulled her clean off the couch with its raw strength. "I said _let's go!_ "

"Okay, fine! You didn't have to go that far," Ruby said with a sigh. She got off the ground and dusted herself.

Yang and Ruby were putting their shoes on to leave. "Anyone else?" Yang asked the room as if it wasn't even a question.

"Uhh, yeah. Sorry," Jaune said. He, Nora and Ren followed behind.

Qrow and Oscar looked at each other. "Are we going too?" The young wizard asked.

"Nah," Qrow dismissed. "We've got to hold down the fort. Besides, I'm interested in this interview."

When the young adults arrived at the news station, the front clerk held them back so as not to interrupt the broadcast. They could at least watch and hear the remainder of it from the front room.

"I still can't believe what happened in that old warehouse," Blake said in front of a few microphones and cameras. She sat next to Weiss as the anchor, Jake Copper, looked on. "That's what happens when people's drives and ideologies are so strong these days: they would sooner bleed to death than talk it out. But we can't keep having these high death tolls. Villages have been more commonly wiped out than ever before. The recent Vytal tournament, in all of the bloodshed that happened, only sparked further battles between the people with opposing views on how to handle rebuilding the fallout."

Weiss and Blake were no longer in the outfits Kali made for them. They only wished to wear them in Menagerie to build a rapport with the people there. They returned to the outfits from their time separated.

"How will this new White Fang differ from what it was under Sienna Khan's leadership?" The anchor asked.

"To begin, we're going back to the old flag. Remember it? It was cleaner- it was blue and white. It didn't have the claw marks the black and red one has. That's the symbolic beginning."

"And in practice?" the anchor led.

"In practice, the highest fundamental change is that anyone, human or faunus, can join. If we fight for equality, we can't exclude our human allies. That's what has always doomed the White Fang. Instead of being a faunus as the only requirement, it is now simply open to anyone test-ably willing to diplomatically fight for every level of social equality under the law. Any ill intentions toward either group are not welcome."

"That's it?" Copper asked.

"It's simple. Besides that, it's a matter of regular attendance in meetings and, you know, the logistical stuff. After what we've been seeing, this is anything _but_ radical. No guns, no militancy, and eighty years ago, though, this structure would have gotten no progress done. Since then, laws have allowed for institutional equality, but now we're fighting from the bottom up. We have to look at individual businesses."

"Indeed. It's always a new battle," Copper finished. He turned the interview over to Weiss. "And what does _Weiss Schnee_ have to do with the White Fang? Those things don't seem to match."

"You're right," Weiss said. "They don't. You wouldn't expect a Schnee to act like this, but I am very different from my father. After what happened that led to my loss of status, this is what I've been doing. Yes, as the media said, I did leave the Schnee home unannounced. That happened. As the recording I made that's been republished everywhere said, I left to Menagerie.

"I did this because I wanted to make the changes I would have made as CEO. I wanted to end the relationship faunus have with the SDC because my father never will. He doesn't see the problem. I felt a roundabout way of doing that was to help Blake, as a teammate from Beacon Academy, accomplish her goal of taking back the White Fang."

"Very well, now that's done. What is next for you?" Copper said, continuing the interview.

"It's as Blake said," Weiss continued. "Humans and faunus can join. I wish to make as big of an impact as she does. It's like this." She pointed to herself, "I'm the _White_ ," and pointed to Blake, "and she's the _Fang_." That got a good chuckle out of Anchor Copper. "I'm the symbol of the new breath, and she's the symbol of the hard work faunus have always been doing to achieve their rightful social equality. I won't continue to globetrot with her, though. After this short time in Mistral, the White Fang needs me back in Menagerie."

"A full switch from the Dust industry to a social justice organization?" Copper compared.

Weiss thought for a second and gave a small shrug. "Yes," she answered. She didn't want people outside of Menagerie to know about her Menagerie Dust Company plans.

"Thank you so much, you two," Anchor Copper said. He turned to face a camera. "I'd like to remind our viewers that they only called into the network this morning. The White Fang is on a journey across Remnant, doing what the CCT system no longer can to make sure they meet their new goals." He turned to Blake. "Where can people go if they are interested in following your path?"

"Our first official meeting in Mistral will be this evening outside in Sakura Square, 5 o'clock. If you were a member before, you'll have to be reinstated." Blake plugged.

"You heard it here first," the interviewer said. "That marks the end of the interview as well as the end of my show, _The Lead with Jake Copper_. I'd like to thank you ladies for setting this up so quickly. We understand the CCT is down, so I'm glad we found a place for you to fit our schedule." He reached to give Weiss and Blake handshakes, and they obliged. The camera focused on Copper as he closed his show. "We'll see you again tomorrow. Goodbye."

Weiss and Blake walked off the set and into their friends from Beacon. Ruby, as she did with Yang a week ago, used a bit too much of her semblance in her hug with Weiss. Wind was knocked out of Weiss, but she returned the hug. "It's so good to see you Weiss!"

"You too, Ruby," the girl of white responded before cutting the hug short in panic for her lungs. "And all of you again," she said to the remainder of Team JNPR. Blake got her turn hugging Ruby, and she and Weiss gave bows to the rest.

"It's so good to have us all back together," Yang voiced.

"About _that_..." Blake tracked.

"Of course it's short-lived…" Jaune said, shoulders slumped slightly.

"You have to go somewhere now?" Nora asked.

"Yeah, well…" Weiss began, "You know what? Let's have this conversation somewhere else. We're taking up space here." They returned to their Mistral home.

"It's just as we just told Jake Copper," Weiss said. "We're splitting up. I'm going to Menagerie, and Blake is going everywhere else."

"Riiight," Ruby said, slowly looking down to the side.

"But we'd like you all to come with us," Blake said. Ruby's head shot back up.

"How can we help?" Ren asked.

"I need people to help reorganize the Fang," Blake said.

"And I need people for something I didn't tell Copper about," Weiss said, much to everyone's curiosity. "I'm starting a new company with some of my sister's money… and the rewards from turning in White Fang criminals."

"In Menagerie?" Yang asked.

"Yes, it's a new Dust company," Weiss said. "But we need to pass through uninhabitable eastern half of the continent before we can do it."

"It's not just large Grimm," Blake said. "Some of the world's largest animals are found in that desert. Pass through and look for Dust."

"So it's the first expedition," Weiss finished.

"We've been hanging out with Team SSSN," Nora added. "They could help you both too."

"And what about that Ilia girl?" Yang asked. "Where is she? She could help."

Blake answered, "She stayed in Menagerie to help rebuild my hometown. We touched on it a bit in the interview. The Fang tried to have a coup, but they failed and set more of the town on fire than they realized." She read everyone's reactions. "Exactly. And that's how we got the Fang after the most important of the bunch died or were put in jail after the insurgence meeting two weeks ago. Ilia also didn't want much public attention, and that's why we came to Mistral in the first place."

"We'll help," Jaune said. "We'll help clear Menagerie."

"Are you sure?" Weiss asked. "We'll be out on the land for weeks doing nothing but fighting… and a lot of walking."

"You have no idea what we've been through," Ruby said of her makeshift team.

"Finding places to sleep and eat?" Weiss pressed.

"We're pros at that now, Weiss," Ruby boasted.

"Then I'll help with your White Fang mission, Blake," the blonde brawler said, hoping to level things out.

* * *

By that afternoon, the young adults all joined the new White Fang in Sakura Square and wore metal panther pins of the original logo to show for it.

The Mistral meeting was about to begin. Weiss and Blake handed pins to recruits. The rest finished setting up tables and chairs. Weiss had the rest of the friends keep an eye for the troublemakers she believed would come from the inner city and nearby villages. Mistral was known for its underworld.

Surely enough, some instigators arrived. A few faunus wore the Grimm masks they didn't want to give up, and they approached Weiss and Blake. "Take off your masks," Blake said with eyebrows lowered. "We no longer accept-" with that, one of them threw himself onto their table, and the others took out the old White-Fang-issued guns and began to make a scene.

Many of the gathering patrons did not use aura. As civilians, they had no need to. In defense, they flipped over tables to hide behind while the young organizers got to work. "Sun, call the police," Weiss said, brandishing Myrtenaster and getting ready to make glyphs. Sun did so, and now that his Aura healed his leg from the insurgence meeting, he began to fight.

By the time the police force arrived, Weiss' glyphs shielded anyone from danger, and Blake disarmed the combatants by tying her weapon's ribbon around their guns.

"The White Fang doesn't do weapons or masks anymore, gentlemen," Weiss said as they were being taken to the police cruisers.

"Then give up yours too!" one of them said from a car.

"It's called a Huntsman Training License," Sun said, getting involved in the exchanged. "If you didn't attack civilians, we wouldn't have to defend the city- our job."

From there, the Mistral police force stuck around to bar entry-with-weapon. The meeting continued as planned, and the Mistral White Fang had a new executive board, which Sun and Neptune filled two seats on. As a faunus and a human, they could embody Weiss and Blake's vision well, though other seats would do the monotonous paperwork for them.

Teams RWBY and JNR would have loved to stick together for longer, but they parted ways. Blake and Yang left Sun and Neptune behind, and they continued to Atlas. Weiss and Team RNJR took a ferry to Menagerie.

* * *

The ship had proven the most cost effective method of travel since air travel required Dust for fuel, which had gotten expensive out of the SDC's ever-dwindling supply. As fuel prices went up, ticket prices followed. Many ships were their own hydroelectric power source.

Two days after the Mistral interview, Weiss and Team RNJR returned to Blake's hometown without her to begin working in the badlands. Team RNJR had their camping backpacks, and Weiss carried her suitcase just as she did when fleeing her home.

"This is Menagerie?" Ruby said as they arrived on the docks. "It's so crowded, but it's not a city. There's not even any cars."

Weiss knew how to respond to that. "Maybe if we do a good enough job clearing out the desert, it can be settled, and the people who move there will make this less crowded." Ruby made a sort of understanding noise.

"I love the weather," Nora said. "Is it always this warm?"

"So far…" Weiss thought, "yes. The ocean keeps it manageable. The desert is away from the ocean breeze, so we'll have to find shade."

"We've been through worse," Ren reminded them.

Weiss led them to the top of the hill overlooking Blake's home. "I still can't believe the disparity. That big one, that's Blake's house. Comparing it to the rest of them makes me want to earn the right to live there." Team RNJR stood in wonder of how rich they didn't know Blake was for her kind.

"We can't take if we're not going to give back," Ruby noted.

"Tell that to my father," Weiss said to nobody in particular.

They reached the door. "Who cares to do the honors?" Weiss asked, pointing to the doorknocker.

"Oooh," Nora said, raising her hand. "Me." Weiss stepped out of the way, and Nora didn't just let gravity do the work. She forced it down, causing the group to feel the reverberation even faintly through the ground.

After thirty seconds, Ghira made it to the door from a distant part of the house. "Hello, Weiss. I see you weren't lying about bringing friends. My name is Ghira," he introduced. "Please, all of you come in. Let us get acquainted over some tea."

Weiss led them to the dining room, and they crowded around the small square table. Ghira, now used to the frequency of visitors, made sure to tell Kali about making tea before opening the door, so she and Ilia walked in rather quickly. The table felt cramped with Weiss sharing a side with Ilia, Ruby with Jaune, Nora with Ren, and Kali with Ghira.

"I suppose I should introduce everyone," Weiss said rather quickly as Kali finished setting the drinks. "Everyone, these are Blake's parents, Kali and Ghira. I've been with them ever since I left Atlas. This is Ilia, a friend of Blake's who was a major help combatting the White Fang on the island. She came here after the horrible meeting. And this is Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren."

"Ah, yes," Kali said. "Weiss told us a bit about you before she left to do some PR for the new White Fang. Ren and Nora, I understand you're from a village outside of Mistral. Do you find the atmosphere about the same as back home?" In Kali's attempt at making small talk, Weiss realized she didn't say enough about Ren and Nora's past. Kali got the message from the turning heads and open mouths on the friends' part. "Oh, I'm sorry," she cleaned. "I apologize. I knew, and I didn't mean to say it like that."

"No, no," Nora said. "You didn't mean it. We know villages don't really last, and it's been so long."

"How exactly are we going to find Dust? Just so we know what's going on," Jaune asked, steering away from the awkwardness.

Ghira answered, "Out east, before the harsh desert, is land suitable for grazing. On your way out to the central valley, stop by the ranches. Ask for Auroch and Sandy. They'll have what you need to know about the wildlife and the land."

"So we'll still be out by the time Blake and Yang are here," Ruby noted.

"Do you know how long before that is?" Ilia asked the cat faunus' friends.

"They should be… a couple weeks I believe," Ruby answered.

"Blake is in Atlas by now," Weiss told Ilia, Kali, and Ghira. "Yang, our other teammate from Beacon, is with her. I gave her my sister's number, so the reorganizational meeting should go well in Atlas. Vacuo is… Vacuo. As she said, their leader is a ram faunus, and they're a more welcoming society, so that meeting should be fine too. Vale… I don't know. They've had about all the catastrophe they can handle. They'll probably be very responsive to our message. If all goes well, she should be back in ten days given the travel times."

Their scrolls lay on the table. Every one of them began to vibrate wildly, and Nora's even fell off the table.

Everyone laughed in mixed humor and confusion until Nora retrieved hers. "What is- _oh!_ " Nora said. She turned to show everyone her screen. "My inbox is at 99 messages!"

"The CCT system!" Weiss exclaimed.

"It's back up?"

"It's back online for sure." Anyone with a family sent a reassuring text of their safety. Ilia, like Ren and Nora, was not one of those people. She did, however, text Blake that Weiss and Team RNJR made it back to her house.

Ruby's first text was " _Hey, dad! CCT is back. Don't worry, I'm safe, and I caught up with my team from Beacon! Give Zwei a big hug from me!"_

Weiss followed a message to Winter with one to Blake. " _CCT is back up! How are things in Atlas? Winter said the meeting hasn't happened yet."_

" _Good. Good,"_ Blake responded, _"Grimm attacked our boat, but nobody was hurt. We reached a hotel, and I got in touch with her. Reorganizing happens tomorrow. Ironwood has her acting as security. I'll let you know how everything goes."_

Weiss replied, " _Are you sure you still need to be there in person after the CCT was restored?_ "

" _Yes. We must be sure of everything. Mistral-types are rambunctious, but I get worse feelings off people from Atlas._ "

* * *

"Thank you for putting on a show, Jacques," Mauve, one of Atlas' social elite, said. "This is so much better than that fiasco your daughter had a couple months ago." The last time they used the family ballroom, Jacques had to reevaluate Weiss as his heiress. "I saw the news. She talked harsh about you in Mistral."

"Oh, it's nothing, Mauve," Jacques said as the night continued. "Weiss knows she can't truly do anything to me. At least the media got wind of her demotion. And I try to do these socials as often as possible. Whitley taking my place was the perfect cause to celebrate."

"True, forget about Weiss then. Let's celebrate. Cheers," Mauve said. "To retirement." They clinked champagne.

"To my retirement," Jacques repeated. Whitley, the new head of the SDC, stayed by his father's side. They were in the center of the chandelier-lined room, complete with tables of all shapes and sizes. A long, rectangular table sliced the room in half between an open space and many circular tables. Sculptures lined the room, but the retiree was most proud of his snowflake ice sculptures encasing metal snowflake ornaments.

"Where did all the years go?" Jacques heard a faint, familiar voice.

He turned around and said, "Arthur, what a pleasant surprise!" Watts arrived, his moustache the only one in Remnant to combat the Schnee's.

"How could I miss the retirement of my best business partner?" Watts said, inflating the man of white's ego. Watts dominated the tech market with his scrolls. He continues to get revenue from software, but after thirty years of business, there isn't much "this year's model" can do better than the last.

"You've been hard at work rebuilding the CCT. I wouldn't have blamed you. I did receive your message after you restored Vale yesterday morning."

"Jacques…" Watts slowed. "I sent that from Mistral before Vale came back online. The CCT would have always functioned under three towers. For whom is the only matter. High standing people like us deserve the CCT. We could have sent messages within our affluent network from anywhere this whole time. It didn't seem to make a difference regardless, since that network is purely in Atlas." The two continued to catch up, paying no attention to the festivities around them.

"What is the progress looking like in Vale?"

"My workers have restored the Vale tower to an enhanced sort of satellite functionality now. It's very technical, but everyone can communicate." As the inventor of scrolls, which came around fifty years after the CCT, the Vale council tasked Watts, as the one who brought the CCT to people's pockets, with reparations. "They will continue to restore it to full status. With only three towers, data takes more time to receive. It may be a while. Eighty-year-old tech is very hard to work with."

"You continue to outdo yourself, Arthur."

"Wait until you hear the last of it, Jacques. There is something else we've been working on I wished to show you. Come outside for a moment." As they began to walk, Whitley followed, but Jacques gave his son a stern look and waved him off, the back of his hand facing the son.

They headed to an empty patio nearby. The Schnee Estate was situated high in the continent of Solitas' extreme plateau. A sheer cliff was behind Jacques' expansive backyard, signaling the kingdom's border. The crashing waves at the bottom signified chaos and the origin of anything that could reach and breach the kingdom.

"Watch the kingdom's outer perimeter," Watts said. Jacques complied as Watts typed around on his phone. Soon, a nevermore flew up with haste over the cliff, only for a border defense turret to make quick work of it.

"Holy graces!" Jacques jumped back from his position on the railing. "You can control the Grimm?"

"Not quite," Watts said, "but I can tell them where to feed if they please."

Jacques was baffled. "How? You made that nevermore _chase_ negativity."

"I added a new service to the messaging app," Watts said. "I am currently the only person who can authorize it, so I added your contact to the pool." He motioned to Jacques pocket, so the retiree took out his scroll. "Try to send me a message."

"Okay," Jacques said as he fumbled through. "This is new. Is it this red box?"

Watts pointed to the device. "I just sent a message to myself. Whenever you send a message to someone whose red box you check off, the message is encrypted with a sort of negativity. If you write nothing but still hit 'send,' nothing will indicate receiving a message, but the negativity is still there. A Grimm will sense the receiver's scroll and act upon it. I call it hate mail for now."

"This is great," Jacques said in conflicting thoughts. "Truly- revolutionary- but the Grimm can't travel past border walls without a mass panic, and that's too much cost."

"That is true," Watts recognized. "We're working on other beta versions of it, but the borders are a problem for now. _Unless_ ," Watts said in a knowing tone, "there happens to be _someone_ in your life with a scroll who is _not_ protected by a kingdom's defenses."

"Now that you mention it," Jacques understood, "I _do_ have one of those people."


	11. Ghosts That Follow

**-Chapter 11: Ghosts That Follow-**

Blake and Yang met with Winter before their Atlas recruitment event. With the CCT system restored, they could advertise the meeting much faster and did not need to use the local media as they had done in Mistral.

Ironwood provided Winter with a security camera for the proceedings. Atlas normally used black dome cameras in its facilities, so adding one in a building that didn't have any didn't seem off. She connected it to a wireless transceiver, and whenever recruits entered the hallway leading in, images of them were sent to a military operator with facial recognition software who could relay to Winter what involvement, if any, they had with the militant White Fang.

The venue was a public ballroom, and they had standing tables set up along with a meek platform for addressing the crowd. As people filed in, they filled out paperwork with contact information and other logistic necessities. They filled the tables and had drinks from a bar Winter organized.

Flynt Coal and Neon Katt came with the others of their team, and Blake and Yang greeted them.

"Hello, you two," Blake said. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Same," Neon said. As she noticed the high tables and drinks, she said, "It does look like the party I promised you." Yang was visibly put off by the statement.

"You know, Xiao Long," Flynt said, "she only messed with you at the tournament to throw you off. She is very testy, but I get used to it." Flynt and Neon's teammates finished filling out the sheet, and Flynt waved them off to continue talking with his former competitor.

"Ah, thanks," Yang said. She would still take a while to get used to Neon, though she said, "But if you're looking for a party, stay after this is over and Blake and I have something important we need to share with you." Neon's eyes lit up.

"It's not… it's not a party," Blake said. "But you'll be interested." She turned to Flynt as he finished his registration and said, "It's about Weiss. She and I are involved in something that she hopes can repay you for what the SDC did to your father."

"Alright, I'll bite. Talk to you later," Flynt said, and the two went to catch up with their team.

"Okay, Yang. I think the crowd is mostly in here," Blake said. "Stay up front for anyone late though. I'll go make a statement."

Winter sat near to the side on her scroll. Atlas Military scrolls were not transparent from both sides for classified purposes. Only she could see her tablet-sized screen as it relayed that the clear majority had no criminal background even if they were connected to the militant years of the organization. What little activity showed up usually involved actions against the Schnee Dust Company's retailers. Nobody was connected to high crimes.

Blake passed by Winter and asked, "Should I be worried?"

"Negative," Winter replied. "If anything, people here have only taken physical aggression against the SDC. Perhaps you could address that, but I do not understand it as major considering what else has happened to the company." Blake gave a polite nod and continued.

She reached the small podium and stood atop it. "Hello, everybody," she began to read from a document she prepared earlier. "If you have seen the news recently, you would recognize me as Blake Belladonna, our organization's new leader. Given the recent events in both Mistral and Menagerie, I knew I had to travel to make sure the organization could properly change everywhere. I understand it is odd that even higher ranking members had to re-register.

"This comes as a result of Adam Taurus. I know he is dead. I… killed him… as I'm sure many of you are aware. He is responsible for the deaths of countless in Vale, perhaps even including Professor Ozpin." Yang turned around at this, realizing Qrow had not told her or Weiss what happened at Beacon a year ago.

Winter continued to focus on her security detail as entry became very sparse. Another picture taken outside appeared on her scroll. It was of a few masked men and women, and their returned intel claimed they were at Beacon during its fall. She promptly dialed the police hotline, collapsed her scroll, went into the hallway, and closed the door behind her.

Winter wore a White Fang pin as she stood with the three masked faunus in the hallway. "Even the oldest Schnee… in the _White Fang_?!" one of them said, appearing to be a girl under her discontinued uniform.

"This is an event for anyone of any species. I apologize, but as militants, I cannot let you through," Winter said with diplomacy.

"This is our organization, not yours, not any human's," another faunus said.

"It belongs to anyone willing to peaceably fight for faunus grassroots equality," Winter contended as she retained a straight posture. "If you wish instead for faunus supremacy, as you appear to, I suggest you drop your weapons and leave before the police arrive."

"Like hell will I," the female said, and she began to fire at Winter, who easily defended herself by projecting her aura as a shield.

Blake noticed Winter leaving, and many people turned as they heard the door shut initially, but Blake continued to speak. "Because the former White Fang, under Sienna Khan, was poorly structured and allowed for Taurus, I am making sure to run a tighter ship while still holding onto the concepts of freedom and equality we want to achieve. I don't want another Adam Taurus to happen to this world, and yes, I know none of you could ever compare to him.

"I've never been to Atlas before, but I know the shared experience we faunus face. I'm also glad to see human allies in the crowd today, even some old faces." She smiled to Flynt and Neon. "This is everyone's fight, after all.

"The one thing that seems most prevalent in the White Fang, whether from the militant years or even before, it is our actions against the Schnee Dust Company." At that moment, the first gunshot from the hallway was heard, and everyone gasped. They turned and prepared to defend themselves, but the door remained closed.

From her place standing on the podium, Blake said, "Everyone, remain calm. Special Operative Winter Schnee is there. Yang, would you please make sure she is safe?"

Yang turned and opened the door a crack, causing everyone who could see through to jump slightly. She became much less tense as Winter approached from the other side.

"It's okay, everyone," Yang said. "Winter is coming." She turned to Winter, still on the other side of the door. "Huh? Yes," she said, and she began to leave. "Don't worry. Police are on their way." Yang closed the door behind her and helped Winter detain the failed insurgents until police arrived.

"Thank you, Yang," Blake said as she returned to speaking. Everyone shifted their attention back to her. "Thank you, everyone, for your support in comparison to what just happened outside. I'm glad the situation is diffused. We will continue to stand for peace only through peace. That will never change."

"To get focused again, if you recall, I was talking about the Schnee Dust Company. As a monopoly over the largest resource, they can afford to be horrible, and I completely understand how many of you have probably taken forceful actions against them in the past. I hold absolutely nothing over you for that. I was in the White Fang under Sienna Khan for a short while as well, and I raided a Schnee train with Adam. It could have been worse; he wanted to kill the human crew, but I stopped him from that and left the organization pronto.

"Regardless, the White Fang continued to be a defining aspect of my life. I could never escape it if I tried, and I was given the opportunity to make it mean something- to give it worthwhile, real results. I know you are all dedicated as well.

"This meeting serves only to transition the White Fang of Atlas to our peaceful efforts. Of course, that means how we treat the SDC here, where it is strongest. I will email all of you about our next meeting where we address that further, but for now, I should say we boycott.

"Weiss Schnee could not be here today. She knows how the SDC is doing financially, and she claims it is in moderate decline. A boycott may not sound effective, and often, unless it is very long, it wouldn't be. But the SDC is weak. They're not increasing price because they _want to_ , or because they _just can_. It's slowly rising because they don't have the _supply_ they used to.

"Remember, when the SDC fails, other Dust companies will finally be able to operate and profit. There are many companies the SDC outsold, and I will encourage them to continue their work.

"That adjourns our meeting. Thank you for filling out the paperwork earlier. Future meetings will establish a firm base here and allow us to move forward. Please, relax and lounge here until Yang and Winter Schnee return."

Not too long after, Yang and Winter finished talking with the police force and returned to the meeting. The doors opened again, and many of the new members filed out. Flynt, Neon, and the other two of their team stuck around to finish their talk with Blake and Yang.

"Don't worry about the fighting," Winter said. "They were nothing for me. The police arrested them." Blake and Team FNKI were relieved.

"Catch me up about Weiss?" Flynt asked as Team FNKI gathered with Blake and Yang.

Blake gave him the full story. "She is starting a Menagerie Dust Company to combat her father, and she's already in the Menagerie desert to get started. We thought about you. We wanted to do right by your father."

Flynt was very impressed. "Wow… thank you. Really, it means a lot. We haven't had strong income since. I almost had to drop out of the academy to get a job that would pay sooner."

"Specifically," Blake said, "we were hoping you and your team would be on the White Fang's Atlas executive board, and about the Dust company, you could also connect us to contacts involved in the different processes of Dust retail. Packaging, shipping, you know. Of course, we'd give you plenty of stock for it, and your father could get back in the business with his own shop. Are you interested?"

Flynt, Neon, and the others were ecstatic. "Absolutely, Blake," Flynt said. "I'd love to…" He looked at his team. "Excuse me, _we'd_ love to."

"So, Neon," Yang started. "Would you call this… what was it? 'Super crazy awesome?'"

Blake rolled her eyes at Yang, and Flynt tipped his hat over his eyes. The orange cat faunus nodded to affirm. "I knew you'd warm up to me," Neon said.

Yang noticed Blake's reaction and said, "At least I'm trying."

Flynt decided he should try too. "Tell Weiss I was wrong about her… and say I wish her the best."

"Will do."

Unlike their encounters in Mistral and Atlas, Blake and Yang faced no physical resistance in the Vale or Vacuo meetings. As they already knew, Vacuo's shared experience doesn't produce much negativity. Coco and Velvet, as human and faunus, volunteered to represent part of the Vale branch at their meeting. Through all of it, Yang brought her motorcycle along.

Yang texted Qrow, _"Hey, I won't be back in Mistral. I'm headed to Menagerie with Blake like I told you. We might be headed to Mistral in a week or two. I'll let you know what comes up."_

As Blake and Yang docked in Menagerie, Yang loved what she saw. "This is where you live? It's beautiful!" she said, not remembering the history the island reminds its citizens of.

Blake sighed and let out a "I suppose so. The sun is getting low."

"What's wrong? Shouldn't you be excited after being on the water so much?"

"Yes, Yang. It's not that. It's just… it's beautiful, but faunus didn't deserve to be shoved here. Remember, the island is two-thirds desert. That's why this is so crowded."

Yang realized her folly and faced the ground as they walked up the hill to her house. "I'm glad I brought Bumblebee with me," Yang said, causing Blake's confusion until she realized Yang spoke of the motorcycle. "This climb is a little too much to do every day." She walked with the bike idling at her side because Kuo Kuana was way too crowded to drive through.

"I get used to it," Blake responded as they reached the top of the hill. She stopped walking. "You know what? You're right. It's good to be home. Ilia must have gotten pretty bored without us." Yang had kept walking, and Blake caught up.

"So where are we headed?" Yang asked.

Blake could tell Yang eyed the huddled masses of houses, so she said, "I never told you my family is rich, did I?"

Yang darted until she saw the only notable house in sight. "You probably should have. Oh my," Yang said. "That's really… that's you?"

Blake rolled her eyes in humor, now having received that sentiment plenty of times before, "Yes, Yang. That's me."

They reached the door, Blake let out a breath, and gave the knock.

When it opened, Ghira, Kali, and Ilia were all there. "Hi, Mom, Dad. This is Yang," Blake said.

They bowed to each other and had their 'nice-to-meet-you's. Yang noticed Ilia, and said "And it's good to see you again, Ilia. And on your feet."

Ilia responded in kind, saying, 'Thank you. That meeting was… brutal." Ilia lingered an arm across her waist as if covering a wound she had from that day. Her chameleon skin turned green, and certain features turned blue.

"And your skin is all better too," Yang said, not knowing what the colors meant.

Ghira butted in during the ensuing awkward moment and said, "Blake, Yang, please," he motioned them inside. "Would you like to sit for some tea, Yang?"

"That would be lovely," the yellow firecracker said, "but I actually wanted to see more of this house." Yang looked up at the hall's pointed ceiling. "Maybe Blake would show me around. I would still love tea later, though."

"Of course," Kali said as they walked farther inside. "Weiss and your friends are still out in the east. It's been about a week since they left. You should catch up with them tomorrow if you can."

They agreed, and Blake took Yang on a short tour of their house.

"This is the last room," Blake said.

"Ooh, your bedroom," Yang noted.

Blake sighed. "Yes. It's nothing special, but since Ilia is using the guest room, I suppose you'd have to sleep here with me tonight."

As they stood at the door, Yang said, "Sooouuunds lovely," Yang chimed as she put her backpack down in the corner and went to lie spread out on the bed.

"Feel like home yet?" Blake chuckled.

"You have no idea," Yang replied, her words nearly muffled by the bedsheets.

"We should have that tea soon," Blake reminded the blonde as she was nearly falling asleep.

Ilia came up to Blake as she was still in the doorway. "I have to tell you something." Her arm was still across her waist, fist closed around something. Even though Ilia managed to prevent her skin from showing her emotions, Blake gave a nervous sound at her tone. "Follow me."

"Yang, I'll be right back," Blake said, following Ilia out. Blake chuckled, and left Yang by saying, "Don't fall asleep on me." Even though the sun was setting in Menagerie, Blake still found Yang a bit too tired.

"Nwo pwomisssseess."

Ilia led Blake to the guest room and closed the door behind her. She didn't turn on the light, so the evening sun through the window was their only source. "Huh, what? Ilia, what's wrong?!" Blake said in confusion that heightened when Ilia let out tears in their privacy. Ilia sat on the bed and slumped down onto it, beginning to breathe sporadically. "Calm down… calm down," Blake said, wiping her friend's forehead to console. Ilia put weight on her elbow and shifted to hand Blake something. Blake accepted the object and recognized it as a pregnancy test.

" _+"_ it read.

Blake was horrified to see Ilia as she remembered her old self, continuously haunted by the actions of a single dead bull faunus.

* * *

The morning after arriving in Menagerie, Weiss, Ruby, Nora, Jaune, and Ren left Kuo Kuana to the east to find a mine spot for the Menagerie Dust Company.

The eastern border of Kuo Kuana had a gateway, beyond which a cobblestone path winded into lush jungle. Even though the sun was directly overhead, the foliage prevented most of the sunlight from reaching the ground. Nowhere before had any of them heard so many distinct animal calls in one place.

As the hour went by, the jungle thinned out and the soil turned dry. The foliage opened out to Menagerie's vast hills. Immediately, a ranch came into view.

"Horses!" Ruby noticed. There were many different fenced off stretches of land, each with its own animal species.

"I think I see the main house," Weiss said. It was a quaint home. The wood paneling was moldy, and the paint was more absent than present, but to its residents, it was a house nonetheless.

Weiss took the lead of the group as they walked up the porch steps. She knocked and kept a straight posture, hands folded behind her back.

"Hello?" A tall, portly man opened the door. He had blonde hair and a beard that reached his sternum. More noticeably, he had large antlers, and his jaw strut forth from his face. "Ah yes, Weiss Schnee," he continued. "Mr. Ghira called me about you. You needed mining equipment?"

"Yes, sir. I take it you are Auroch?"

"Where are my manners? Yes," he said, palm to his face. "My name is Auroch. My wife Sandy is out at the stables right now. I already gathered the mining equipment and some food for your journey." The married couple were butchers of their cattle, so they prepared cold cuts. The mining equipment was hardhats, pickaxes, torches, a compass, and a few empty bags for their Dust.

After they followed as Auroch retrieved the supplies from a shed and food from his freezer room, he gave them a few words of advice. "I'm in joy of your ambition, but I must warn you. The Grimm and animals of the central valley have been there as long as Menagerie can remember. You are best off not going any further than that. The northern end of the valley will protect you from the sun, and there is also a cave system you would do well to find Dust in. However, Vale once learned subterranean Grimm exist, and you shouldn't let history repeat itself. You have trained for these things. Don't forget to trace your path with torches as you explore the cave, and don't forget half the journey is coming back. Ration your food accordingly."

"Thank you for all your help, sir," Weiss said. "We promise to heed everything."

"Will we have to pay you?" Ruby asked.

"Oh, don't worry. Mr. Ghira already took care of that, and far more than he needed to."

They gave farewells and continued to walk east.

"This hat is so cool," Ruby said.

"We'll need the lights on them for the caves," Jaune said.

Ruby remembered something, so she said, "Maybe if you had one of these when we first got to Beacon, you wouldn't have gone into a cave and thought the deathstalker was the relic!"

Ren and Nora laughed at the old times, having heard about it from Pyrrha later. Jaune gave a heavy sigh.

After they left the ranch to continue east, the cobblestone path disappeared, and the grass became sand. "And to think a year ago I thought I would graduate from Beacon," Weiss said out loud. "Instead, I'm out in the Menagerie desert where no one has gone before and left thinking it was a good idea."

"Don't be like that, Weiss," Ruby said. "It's not healthy."

"I didn't mean it like that, Ruby. I'm sorry," the former heiress said. "It's been a very wild, difficult, and life changing couple of months for me, but I'm enjoying it. I'm following in my grandfather's footsteps. He went on every expedition he could when he was alive. He was driven, he was honest, and he never passed up the opportunity to get dirty no matter what office he held."

"Now, the SDC just runs itself," Nora pitched in.

"Pretty much." Weiss' scroll rang a tone she set for only Jacques' contact. "Oh, speaking of the SDC running itself, my father… texted me. Wha- he never texts. He… this is a blank message. It's like he hit _space_ and sent it. That's what he gets for being too old to understand how messaging works."

While Weiss was engrossed in the text message, Jaune noticed a beowolf come over a hill. "Weiss, look out!" Jaune said.

When Weiss turned, she saw the beowolf lunge at her, knocking the scroll out of her hand and pinning her to the ground. Within a second, Jaune's sword went in one side of the beast and out the other.

"What in heavens?!" Weiss said, managing to get her rapier through the beowolf's stomach, disintegrating it more quickly as she lay on the compact sand.

Nora helped Weiss stand, and as she did, she felt something slide off her and hit the ground. "What is this?" She reached down and picked it up. "It looks like something out of a computer."

The group was in shock. "Where did this come from?" Weiss continued.

"The beowolf, maybe?" Jaune proposed.

"I… I believe so," Weiss said, looking to the ground to make some sense of it.

"You dropped this," Ren said, returning Weiss' scroll to her. "Rather, it made you drop it." Weiss gave thanks.

Weiss' scroll vibrated. "Why are only now people contacting me?" Weiss thought out loud, much to her friends' humor. "It's Ghira." She answered the call, "Hello, Ghira."

"Hello, Weiss," the chieftain responded. "It seems Fennec Albain was up to something these past weeks. He is credited with breaking the old White Fang's lieutenant out of jail in Mistral along with many of the insurgent forces held captive for trial since the meeting Adam died at."

"Oh, no," Weiss said. "When did that happen?"

"Last night," he replied. "As of right now, Corsac is still in custody in Menagerie. Security has been tightened, but we know what we may face. The Menagerie police may not be enough for the old White Fang's remnants. The trial they were being held for has been suspended until their capture. You and the rest who were present are no longer obligated to appear on the original date."

"Thank you. I wish you the best over there," Weiss said. "We should almost be to the valley."

"Did Auroch mention the cave?" Ghira asked.

"Yes, and he also gave us a map."

"Do not think the cave is any safer," Ghira said. "The Grimm inside are not large, but stories say they overwhelm very easily."

"Thank you, Ghira. I'll keep it in mind."

"You are welcome. Stay safe. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Weiss collapsed the scroll and stored it away.

For the first night, they made a campfire out of wood Ruby cut from the jungle. They cooked some of Auroch's food and enjoyed the night sky, highly decorated away from kingdom light pollution.

A week after they left Kuo Kuana, they came upon the central valley to find it loaded with Grimm and vultures. Weiss had grown used to seeing waves at sea, but the vantage point showed her something else. These were made of yellow particulate, and they resisted natural motion as if any progress could be frozen. "We should wait… right?" Weiss asked as they stood on the valley's edge, looking down into it. The group tilted their heads at her. "We shouldn't confront the Grimm until we have more numbers I mean."

"How are we going to go through, Weiss? The cave is somewhere down there," Ruby noted.

"Let's just stay up here on the left until we can find it," she replied.

"But there's no shade up here!" Weiss' former team leader pouted.

"That's too bad," Weiss said in sarcasm. "I think I see it." She looked straight down into a clearing separated from the rest of the valley. Darkness protruded from the steep wall in a way they had not yet seen. It began to look more like a canyon with its sheer cliff.

Nora made fake binoculars with her hands. "I think you're right," she said. "Does everyone remember their landing strategies?" They had a fifty-foot drop to descend.

Ruby and Nora used their guns' recoil, Weiss used her glyphs, and Jaune and Ren dug their blades into the wall to safely orient themselves. Luckily for them, this clearing was almost like a canyon discrete from the valley itself. A path led to the main valley, but many of the Grimm and animals in the vast landscape could not sense them.

"Jaune, do you still have the torches?" Weiss asked. He affirmed and opened his backpack to give everyone their own torch. "Thank you. You should stay behind everyone and set torches to mark where we've been.

"Will do," Jaune said.

"Okay, I'm going in," Weiss said. "Keep your weapons out as you go. Single file, and try to space out to cover what we can, but follow me. And no explosives! We can't use Dust to find more Dust. We're only going to trap ourselves in if we do."

"I'll go next," Ruby said.

Weiss, now a few steps in, said, "Just make sure you can always see me. If the path splits, you shouldn't have to guess where I am."

Soon, the five teenagers followed deep into the cave. "I think I see a light up ahead," Weiss said. "There are animal tracks, so watch out." Though the cave was tall enough for them to walk, they were often ducking for a turn or squeezing chests in. When they weren't in a large opening, the first four feet were wide enough for animals to fit through, but it thinned out vertically. "Are you staying close? It's really a twisted network in here," Weiss continued.

A minute passed of walking deeper into the tunnels. "Ah!" Weiss shrieked.

"Are you okay?" Ruby called.

"Yes," Weiss said. "Just… There's a skeleton. This place freaks me out. Let's regroup at the next opening."

When the path opened to a wide expanse, Weiss stopped for the first time since she entered. This cave had a small stream of water, which poured down into a dark abyss. The animal tracks disappeared into the stream. A few other paths exited the chamber.

Weiss believed the clearing to be the size of one of her old home's vast hallways as the stream eroded the surrounding rock and made the room more spacious over time.

Ruby entered next. "Do you think we even travelled downward?" she said. "So far, it's only felt sideways. She looked to the cave's ceiling. "That might as well be ground level I think. I'm gonna try something." Ruby took a nearby rock and threw it straight up as hard as she could. "See? Look how much dirt came down," she proved.

"Ruby, I'm not quite sure that's how it works," Weiss said unconvinced.

"Fine." Ruby transformed Crescent Rose and shot the ceiling.

"Ruby!" Weiss said. "What do you think you're doing? You're going to collapse this on us!"

"But look, though!" Surely enough, light came from the hole Ruby made. "I was right." The echo of Weiss' hand hitting her forehead might as well have caused the same disturbance she feared.

"Halt," Ren said. He closed his eyes as Nora and Jaune arrived at the large opening. They noticed the hole Ruby made. "I hear something."

Jaune lit and placed a torch at the space's opening. From one of the previous torches, a new humanoid shadow was cast along the opening's wall. It elongated as it drew near. Soon, Weiss recognized it as having two fox ears.

" _Fennec Albain_."


	12. Catching Up

**-Chapter 12: Catching Up-**

"Ohhhh," Blake said in an exhale, remembering the deep conversation she had with Ilia in the Mistral hospital room. After handing Blake proof of her developing child, Ilia curled into the fetal position, and Blake came to sit next to her on the bedside. She ran fingers through Ilia's hair and her own watering eyes. "You poor thing…"

"I felt something weird when you came back today," Ilia said. "It's been over a month since… and I realized I missed my period… and…" Ilia was still breathing heavily. "Ad- Adam."

"I know, Ilia. I know it was him. It's okay." Ilia found out about her pregnancy only minutes before Blake did, so Blake knew she had to cover the extremely fresh emotions.

"But it's NOT!" Ilia's skin changed to a deep blue in her sadness, something that hadn't happened since an emotional fit in her childhood. "He _RAPED_ me! Nobody else's, and he _raped_ me…"

Blake thought of her family hearing Ilia, so she went over and locked the door. In Blake's mind, she was the only one who could help Ilia regardless of the fact she was the only one who knew what Adam did. "I'm here for you," Blake said after Ilia had almost fully submerged herself in the sheets.

"That makes one person," Ilia said through depressive tears.

"No," Blake defended. "I might be the first one to come to you because you came to me, but I promise you, Ilia. I promise that Weiss, Yang, Ruby, and all our friends who are helping Weiss right now will give _anything_ to help you. They were there for me even when they thought I was a criminal." Ilia's skin returned to green, reassuring Blake of her words.

"Remnant's top rapist murderer put a child inside of me and died, and it will grow up to wonder why it exists," Ilia summarized.

"Ilia, you know that's not true," Blake consoled.

"He'd make me abort it if he still could!"

Blake knew that was true. Adam was too selfish; he wanted everything at no cost to himself. Any pleasure of his was worth any pain or depression to others, and he wouldn't care for anyone, an illegitimate child of his or not. His exponentially deranged ego bound him to absolutely nothing and no one.

Someone attempted to open the guest room door. Blake grew worried, unsure how to word the situation. The person knocked, and by the time Blake reached the door, she heard her mother ask, "Blake, is everything okay in there? I'm worried about you."

Blake sighed in relief of not having to explain it to her father. She cracked the door open to hide Ilia from sight. "I'm alright, Mom," she began in a very soft voice. "Ilia is not doing well, but I can take care of it."

"Are you sure I can't help?" Kali continued, her voice too loud for Blake's comfort. "She seems very distressed."

"I promise I'll tell you later," Blake pressed as sternly as a whisper could. "Just please, she needs some time, and I _know_ how to help. Try not to tell Dad or Yang."

Kali understood and bid adieu. Blake closed the door silently behind her as Ilia continued to face away from the door, buried in the fetal position under covers.

Blake tested the waters and removed the covers down to Ilia's waist. Her arm still clutched her waist, but now Blake saw it was her lower abdomen and that it was covering her baby. She couldn't help but notice how similarly Ilia was positioned to the life growing inside her for which the fetal position was named.

For the next few minutes, Blake didn't know what to say, but she consoled Ilia by rubbing her shoulder. Despite being a girl, Ilia was built very masculine. Her shoulders were broad, her eyebrows were thick, and her frame had little curve to speak of.

Despite this, Blake found something to say about Ilia's femininity. "Your skin is very soft," she said. "I don't think anyone deserves you. Your skin didn't deserve it."

It was helping. Ilia calmed down. Her skin returned to normal. Her previous hyperventilation almost caused her to pass out, but she managed to keep breathing slowly. "My vagina didn't either," she said with a lighter tone of voice.

Blake rolled her eyes with the blunt truth of that statement. With the way she said it, Blake at least knew Ilia was well enough for humor no matter how twisted it was. It was certainly Ilia's brand. "You're right. It didn't. Keep breathing. Just keep breathing." Blake began to model a slow breathing rate. "With me." They inhaled and exhaled together for thirty seconds. "Sit up now." She helped Ilia lean against the wall, a pillow now behind her.

Blake stood up from her position at Ilia's side. "Look," she said. "This is my worst battle scar. It's what Adam did to me at the fall of Beacon." She pulled the hem of her pants down at her left hip to show the gash just above her waist. "Nobody has seen it since it was bandaged. I'm not sure it will ever be gone. It was very deep."

Almost without prompt, Ilia slowly pulled up her top past a few scars. She even lifted her bra an inch to show Blake, "This is all my skin has left of Adam." She was careful not to expose her full breast, but that was where the bruise was.

"What about the scars?" Blake asked. Though Blake was taken aback slightly at the intimacy, she realized that to Ilia, the girl was responding in kind.

"Those were the fight in Mistral, not Adam. Remember?"

Blake nodded. "Scoot," she said, and Ilia made room on the side for Blake as they sat upright together with only Ilia's legs under the covers.

Blake put her arm around Ilia, and Ilia rested her head on the cat girl's shoulder. Blake tried to avoid touching Ilia's invisible baby bump. Ilia grabbed Blake's free hand, and they lay together. Ilia was comforted, but she began to cry again as the sun disappeared and the moon took over.

"What's going through your head?" Blake asked.

Ilia choked slightly as she said, "How can I do this?"

"Do what?"

"All of this. Adam changed the _rest_ of my life in one asshole act." Anger showed through her tears, and the conflicting emotions only made her feel more helpless. "My life is always going to be _his_. From now on. Until I _die_." Every word Ilia said dug her rabbit hole deeper. Her mind was her own worst enemy, and left to its lonesome, it would drown in the flood of emotions it only began to feel.

Blake searched for words, and she decided to say, "But it's not his kid if he's not taking ownership. You can raise that kid to be your own." Blake saw the intent in those words, but Ilia was tired of hearing about the absentee father.

"How can I fill the void for my kid, for _myself_ , if I don't get to decide what happens in my own life? I can't abort it now. He would have made me, and I might have even wanted to a month and a half ago, but I can't do it now!" Ilia overturned herself, practically lying on top of Blake, and continued to sob into her shoulder. Blake rubbed her back.

"Maybe I can help," Blake said.

Ilia stopped tearing when she heard a knock at the door. "Blake?" The voice was Yang's. "I was hoping we could have that tea."

"You can head down now," Blake said. "I'll be there in a minute."

"See you there, kitty," Yang said. Her footsteps led down stairs, and Blake groaned at the nickname.

"Are you going to join us?" Blake asked the chameleon suffocating her waist.

"Maybe in a minute," Ilia said, taking a cue from Blake.

"I'll hold you to that," the cat faunus said as Ilia got off her.

Blake didn't want to leave Ilia to her poisonous thoughts, so as she got up to leave, she gave one last hug. As she opened the door, Blake said, "I'll save your spot. Don't let your tea get cold. And… You know I can't imagine what you're going through. You saw what happened to Yang, and she can't compare, but despite that, I promise you all of us will help you through it. It's what family is for."

"I'll hold you to that," the chameleon girl parroted back.

Ilia came down the stairs shortly. She had collected herself, and she managed to keep her skin neutral. "Hello, everyone," she said, waving an arm while the other arm held it.

"Hello, Ilia," Ghira said. "I'm glad you could join us." Though the group was mostly done drinking, they sat to catch up and reminisce.

"I heard what you were getting at, Blake," Ilia said. "You can tell them what happened earlier."

Eyes fixated on the young black cat as she attempted to phrase Ilia's situation. "It's going to sound like… one of those Mistralian dramas," Blake explained. "The ones that never end and have convoluted, overly dramatic conflicts. Never any action, but a lot of conversations. Do you know what I mean, Yang?"

Yang affirmed, and so did Blake's parents. After waiting for her father to finish sipping his tea, Blake continued to speak, "Before Adam died, while he was still in Menagerie and Ilia was in the old White Fang, he… sexually assaulted her. I killed him a few days later, but Ilia realized… she's pregnant. It can't be anyone else's child."

The table sat in silence. Ilia's skin changed shortly to green and blue before it faded to normal. Blake had waited for her father to drink, so nobody did a spit take. Blake continued, "Yang, I think it's best if we stay here. Weiss knows we'll be here when they get back in a couple days."

Kali said, "Ilia, dear, I can't imagine how you feel, but I'm always willing to help you. Ghira and I _have_ talked about wanting grandkids. We never pressured Blake into having them, sweetie, but we would love to help raise your child."

"That's so nice of you," Ilia said. "Thanks."

"I nearly forgot- how were the White Fang meetings, you two?" Ghira asked.

"Oh," Blake vocalized, slightly shaming herself for not bringing it up. "They went surprisingly well. We had some fighters attempt to break them up in Mistral and Atlas, but overall, it's looking up. They were easy to stop."

"And we got to see a lot of old friends," Yang added.

"Don't think those problems are your last," Ghira warned. "Fennec Albain is still at large. He broke his allies out of Mistral's prison and escaped clean. Nobody has seen them for the past week."

"I also wanted to ask about all of the Dust the previous White Fang stole," Blake said to her father. "I saw plenty of SDC boxes when I was at the Menagerie Fang base. Plenty of SDC Dust is around Remnant in White Fang camps. What do we do with it since it would be shady for Weiss to have it?"

"It's simple," Ghira said. "The White Fang doesn't need camps anymore. Release any claim to the land from the former years. Some of the instigators may try to keep it, but anything on that soil is no longer the White Fang's. The SDC will come for their property and be on their way. I know you'd love to hold onto it, but you would be diplomatically tarnished."

Ilia was the last to finish her tea. She set her cup on the table, and the empty sound signified the end of the night. Yang yawned. "Thank you so much for your hospitality," she said to Blake's parents. "I loved the tea."

Ghira stood, prompting everyone else to do the same. "It's quite alright," Kali said. "Enjoy your rest." Blake and Yang left for their room. "And, Ilia," Kali got the chameleon's attention. "If there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask. Pregnancy is weird. We'll help you handle it."

"Yeah," Ilia said. She accepted the help, but her exhale dragged the word long and showed her true feelings as she dipped her head.

"Come here," Kali said. The mother pulled the expecting mother into a hug. Ilia loosened her muscles and returned the favor.

As Blake and Yang prepared for bed in Blake's room, Blake paused. "Yang?"

"Yes?" the brawler said.

"Can you stay in the guest room tonight?" the cat faunus asked. "I think it's best… for Ilia… if I could be there for her. She's getting better from the initial shock, but it's still a defining moment of her life. Could you imagine?"

"No," Yang said. "I mean, losing my arm was certainly something. That was a defining moment too, but it's not… Adam took a piece of both of us, but he also shifted her _life_ , rooted it down with a kid. I'll go take the guest room. Make sure Ilia is okay for her sake."

* * *

"Who is this guy, Weiss?" Ruby asked. The fox's shadow crept into the room, covering up much of the light hitting the waterfall.

Weiss said, "Fennec led the old White Fang and failed to overthrow Menagerie's leaders after Adam failed to overthrow Sienna Khan. Let me do the talking."

Fennec Albain turned the path's corner and walked into the room with the Lieutenant and a few grunts. He gave a knowing glare to Weiss, prompting her to ask, "How did you get here, Fennec?"

"I could be asking you the same question, Schnee," the faunus intruder said. "I got here because I know these lands. Faunus have fought here to secure our homeland, but the White Fang also continues to use it to _plan_ to secure what is rightfully ours. I could not help but hear your speech after my brother was captured. You're going to take us over just as your father did to our brothers and sisters in the kingdoms."

"If you fought for the right things," Weiss said, "you'd see the difference between me and my father. I do not want anything to do with my father. What my grandfather started to do around the world, I'm finishing in Menagerie. Learn my family's history before saying I'm doomed to repeat it."

"You lie," Fennec rebutted.

"If it takes a fight to convince you otherwise, be my guest. You saw the footprints too. If they belong to Grimm, we may all die down here, and it will have been your fault they were attracted. Where is your brother?"

"He remains in Menagerie's jail. We would have fetched him, but we would have waisted our time and cover. You're my prize, and if he must be locked away for me to catch you, he will gladly bear that burden."

The Lieutenant revved his chainsaw out of anticipation. "Get on with this," he said.

"Hold off," Fennec directed. He changed his fighting posture to stand straight up. "Let us have a test of patience. If you are truly morally correct, we shall wait and see how the Grimm feel."

"Are you sure about him, Weiss?" Jaune asked. Everyone stood with weapons drawn.

"No, but I'm sure about myself," she responded. Weiss took a deep breath at the stalemate born from morality. She had an idea. As opposed to her normal tone of voice, Weiss gave a vaguely aloof rendition of, "You know, I'm above this." She turned completely around to face her friends and winked to them out of the insurgents' view. "I'm just going to go away, but you can start the fight if you want. It's going to happen eventually anyway." As she spoke, she gave exaggerated gestures to her team.

Ruby picked up on the cues and knew to follow Weiss' orders, and when Jaune and Nora glared to her, Ruby reinforced her beliefs in Weiss.

Weiss walked past her friends and left the chamber to a nearby one. Ruby heard the sound cue of Weiss making a glyph. Team RNJR stood against the faunus and waited for any sort of signal. The faunus began to advance on Team RNJR, but they held their guarding stances and continued the stalemate.

With Weiss' glyph, the cave began to shake, and small rocks and sand fell from the ceiling. No new opening let in any more light than Ruby did prior, however.

The important source of light came when Weiss finished the summon. Though they could not see Weiss, the light was strong enough to travel to the standoff's chamber and blind the former White Fang members. Team RNJR was facing away, and the light could not ricochet back to them after hitting the far wall.

"Now!" Ruby said, using her Semblance to charge Fennec into the wall. Jaune and Nora charged at the Lieutenant, but he revved his weapon into the ground, causing sand and pebbles to fly into their faces. Nora was disoriented, but Jaune held his shield to block it and ran into the Lieutenant. Ren fought the two grunt operatives, using his dual SMGs to attack two at once and slice them with the vertical bayonets.

Weiss reentered the fight in full summoned armor and its longsword. Fennec broke away from Jaune by activating his weapon, gauntlets that expel Dust from the fingertips. He slashed Ruby, and she doubled back. Weiss made a jabbing motion, and the energy sword flew into Fennec before rejoining with Weiss' rapier.

Fennec countered by slicing the air with his fingertips, sending different types of Dust at Weiss in claw formation.

Ren cornered the two grunts into the wall by pinning them by the neck between his blades and the chamber wall. In one motion, he sliced both grunts at the neck, breaking their auras. During their pain, he shot them both in the lower abdomen and kicked them toward the path they came through. They saw his offer to spare them, so they left to the cave's exit.

The combat was disorienting in part by the movement of light coming from Weiss and Team RNJR's helmets. As they fought, they had to be careful to keep their enemies in the light where they could see.

Weiss heard her father's contact tone come from her scroll again. Heavily annoyed, she backed away and turned her phone off by holding the yellow diamond on the center. Grimm creeps began to pour into the room from the waterfall's chasm. With heads of rhinos and only two legs, they surrounded the fighters.

The Lieutenant overpowered them with his saw, Fennec easily slashed the air and hit them with Dust claws, and Nora swung her hammer at hers. Ruby managed to out-maneuver them with her Semblance, but Weiss and Jaune were pinned together on the ground. Ren, though able to move nimbly, did not have Ruby's speed and was left to Weiss and Jaune's fate. Weiss' energy chest plate broke from the impact of her fall.

Had they expected the Grimm at the very moment, they may have fared better. However, the fight preoccupied them and the only sources of light were their hats and torches. The ceiling began to crack, and a film of sand and rock stuck to everyone's sweat. The structure was beginning to give, but none of it had broken completely.

Instead of fighting, Weiss thought her way out of the situation. "Ruby, keep them away!" Weiss said. Ruby bolted to help her teammates. "No, not the Grimm, the terrorists!" Jaune stabbed one, Nora came to swing a few off, and Weiss slashed with her energy sword. Ren's guns were too small and massless to make a large impact, but the blades prevented them from hurting him while he was pinned.

Jaune began to strategize as well. After he and Weiss cleared the Grimm from them, they maintained balance and fought the remaining ones. "Nora, Weiss, and Ruby, stay close!" he said. "Ren, we'll protect you." He motioned Ren to advance on the enemies.

Ren held the terrorists at bay as the rest protected him from Grimm. "Weiss, use a glyph over us," Jaune said. Boulders started to crash down. "Ruby, get ready to swing Nora into the ceiling, and Ren, get back here. In three, two, one!" Weiss flew what was left of her energy armor to Ruby to protect her from the rubble.

Ruby swung Nora at the chamber ceiling, sending the entire chamber into a mess of rock. Ren made it under Weiss' glyph at the last second. When they opened their eyes, they made a remarkable discovery.

Ruby's hypothesis was false. They did not make it above ground yet. Above them was merely another enclosed chamber. This one, however, had no paths leading to it and was filled with all four basic types of Dust. "Oh, my… that's what the light came from," Weiss said. Much of the Dust had dropped with the rubble, but the news walls and ceiling were lined with Remnant's most valued resource. The combination of light sources looked nearly like a rave.

"Guys, help me out," Ruby said. She was stuck under a few large rocks, but Weiss' armor protected her as much as it could before it broke. Nora and Jaune removed Ruby from the rocks.

"Where are the faunus?" Ruby asked.

"Likely incapacitated for now," Weiss said. "First, we should find a way out. We just blocked both exits off. So much for the torch path."

"Should I hit the ceiling again?" Nora asked.

"Not until we remove the Dust," Jaune said. "It'll explode, remember?"

Nora nodded. Weiss said, "No exits at least means no Grimm, but we should clean this place before the old Fang miraculously climb out."

"Their auras protected them," Ruby said. "They're down, but they'll wake up. Their weapons can get them out. We shouldn't wait."

"Let's hustle," Jaune said. "Ren, do you still have the pickaxes?" Ren affirmed and took off his backpack.

Ruby looked at how similar her weapon was and asked "Can't I just use Crescent Rose?"

Weiss sighed and said, "This is rock, not dirt, Ruby. We're not cutting weeds, we're-"

"Ugh, yeah, I get it. You don't have to say it like that," Ruby said under her breath yet loud enough to hush Weiss. She accepted a pickaxe from Ren.

They cleared the walls, ceiling, and rubble of its Dust and stored it in the durable meat sacks Auroch gave them. Weiss created another overhead glyph and allowed Nora to have her fun, smashing the ceiling once more. Jaune and Ren carried the Dust bags out of the new hole in the ground and into Menagerie's open air.

"This is going to be our first excavation site," Weiss said. "Jaune, how many torches do you still have?" Jaune stuck his remaining torches in the ground in the shape of an X to mark the spot for later.

During their time in the caves, night fell. They were once again on the valley's rim after coming in through its side. "So that's how we didn't notice them," Jaune said. The five of them could see former White Fang members in the central valley, many of them heavily wounded from Grimm or wildlife on their way here. "They hid behind us and stayed close to the wall."

"That could have been us if we walked through the valley," Nora said. "All of those wounds."

"I'm going to call the police," Weiss said. "There's no telling how long it will take them to get here, but they might have some way to help."

Immediately, the connection went through. "Hello, may I speak to Captain Ivory?" Weiss asked. "This is urgent. Thank you."

Team RNJR and the crippled ex-White Fang operatives stared at each other between elevations, but neither side communicated anything besides a hard stare. Ren identified the ones he spared in the caves. It seemed they knew their leaders were trapped. Between continuing to fight and tending to their friends, they had no choice and left Ren alone.

After Weiss was transferred to the captain she met personally, she said, "Hello again. Yes, it's Weiss. I'm on the north end of the Menagerie Valley by the cave system, and ex-White Fang ne'er-do-wells attacked me and my team. Is there any way you can come out here and make an arrest?"

After a minute, Weiss turned it to speaker-phone to allow her friends to hear Ivory say, "These are the same people responsible for breaking out of Mistral's jail, so I will contact Mistral to have them extradited. Their police will send an aircraft to retrieve them. It should take five hours given their travel. Don't let them out of your sight until then."

"We won't. Thank you," Weiss said.

"You're welcome."

Weiss took a deep breath. "You okay?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Weiss said. "I think I used all my aura in there. I'm just relieved we made it out without any harm. I wasn't so lucky the last time we fought that large man. He broke Sun's leg too."

Ruby's scroll rang. "Hello…? You're in Menagerie now? Great… I guess we'll talk to you later, Blake. Bye."

A chainsaw echoed from the pit Weiss and Team RNJR climbed out of. A few minor explosions reverberated through the ground.

"We should wait here," Weiss said.


	13. Killing an Idea

**-Chapter 13: Killing an Idea-**

The night grew colder in Menagerie's expansive desert, but Weiss and the rest didn't make a campfire.

They still had to catch their criminals. Fennec and the Lieutenant never escaped from the pit Nora made with her hammer when they innovated a way out. Rocks shifted and fell towards the center on occasion, but no bodies were seen save for their recruits. They didn't move from their resting place in the valley, perhaps because nobody was there to order them to.

No matter how long Nora watched the cave's entrance and Jaune looked at the rocky pit, Fennec and the Lieutenant were absent. As Nora watched the valley from her vantage point, the former Fang members sat motionless.

"I think I hear the airship," Weiss said. She and those who weren't waiting on the trapped insurgents searched the Menagerie sky for a light, but to no avail. Far away from the light pollution of the kingdoms, the night sky was made of more stars than open space. It was beautiful, but it wasn't helping. Had they been in the kingdoms, they could spot a moving light much easier.

"There it is," Ruby said. The pilots didn't need a flare after they received GPS coordinates of the group.

"Are you sure you haven't seen either of them yet, you two?" Weiss said. Jaune and Nora affirmed, much to everyone's confusion. "Where else could they be?" Weiss thought out loud.

Sand kicked up as the Mistralian airship landed. "Greetings, officers," Weiss said. Mistral's police didn't use the normal wooden air-sails. The police airship was akin to Vale's bullheads. It even had a spotlight.

"So, Fennec Albain turned up in Menagerie with the people he broke out?" one of them asked.

"Yes, sir," Weiss said. "But they never left the cave. They followed us in and we escaped, but they haven't gotten out yet as far as we know." Weiss walked towards the rim and looked down. "Some of their recruits never went in, and they're still-. They're not there. What? Nora, where did they go?"

Nora's vantage point at the cave entrance allowed her to see the valley earlier, but now the militant White Fang members were gone. "I don't know- I. I'm sorry." She looked around frantically. "There. They must have gone into the cave. It's because I watched the police instead…"

"Don't worry, Nora," Jaune said. "It's okay. We'll find them."

"We will search for them," the police offered. "A few of you should remain at the pit you made. Others should come with us and watch the entrance. Keep us aware if they leave while we're in there."

"Absolutely," Weiss said. "Ruby, you and me should go with to the entrance. Jaune, Ren, Nora, stay here."

"Aye, aye, Cap'n." Nora said.

Weiss and Ruby rode with the police to the cave's entrance. Weiss's aura was still depleted, so she didn't have glyphs for her landing strategy.

"Alright, you two" one officer said. "We'll call you in if we need you, but stay out here for now."

They bid the officers luck. "Follow the torches," Weiss said. "That's where we were."

"For anything else, we have flashlights," they said, and with that, they went into the tunnels.

Minutes passed of nothing. Weiss's scroll beeped an unfamiliar noise. She opened it, and she discovered it was a police call. One of the officers contacted her, so she answered. "Hello?"

"This is just a status update, Miss Schnee," he said. "We wished to inform you we reached the end of the torches. There is still no sign of-" in the middle of the sentence, a high pitch noise preceded a series of heavy explosions. The ground shook heavily, and the police screamed in panic below ground. When the call cut out, Weiss heard the scream echo from the entrance.

Weiss and Ruby went in after them, but large boulders began to fall. "Ruby, we need to go!" Ruby had used her Semblance to reach a bit further into the cave, and Weiss panicked as she alternated looking deeper and looking at the entrance. The cave was still collapsing. "Come on, you dolt!" With those words, Ruby used her speed to push Weiss and herself out of the cave in time.

They landed safely outside, laying just out of reach of collapsed sediments. There was no more cave entrance. Even Jaune, Nora, and Ren saw the ground break apart and sink inward from where they stood. "Dolt?" Ruby asked. "I haven't heard that one in a while."

"Oh, hush," Weiss said, not looking at Ruby. Her eyes were fixed on her scroll. The call from the policeman cut out.

The three atop the valley looked down. "Are you both alright?" Jaune asked.

"We're fine," Weiss said. "But the police are trapped in there now too."

"Weiss…" Ruby said, unnerved. "I don't think they're… _just_ trapped." Ruby changed from her diving position to sitting cross-legged, staring where the cave used to be. "Dust explodes. Nobody can make it out of that."

Weiss followed her gaze. "Now… what?" she asked nobody in particular. "It sounded so simple."

"They left their airship behind," Nora said. "What are we going to do with it?"

"We contact Mistral," Weiss said. "It's their ship, after all."

The valley echoed sounds of vehicles revving up. Ren used his acute hearing and directed to the noise. "Guys…" Ren said. "I see Fennec and the rest. They have… motorcycles!"

Jaune looked around in quick thoughts. Ren was indicating Fennec's location. "So, we're using that airship, right?"

"Are you being serious?" Weiss asked Jaune. "Was there another way out of the cave this whole time?"

Jaune said, " _Seriously_ , all of the White Fang goons are leaving on motorcycles and Ren can fly the ship! Do you want to catch them or not?"

"Yes," Weiss said in an eye roll.

To Ren's surprise, he actually could fly the airship. The police never removed the ignition key. They retrieved Weiss and Ruby and continued to pursue the insurgents.

Even further north than the cave system, the last portions of the western jungle were thinning out. Fennec and his followers raced toward it.

"Come on, come on," Weiss said under her breath. "What are we even doing?"

"Really, Weiss?" Ruby asked. "This is your fight." Ruby's confusion almost made it sound like a question.

"This isn't our airship!" Weiss yelled. "I'm calling Mistral P.D. and letting them know."

"That we stole it?" Jaune asked, pointedly.

"Well, they don't have to know everything," Weiss said. "Or at least we shouldn't phrase it like that. But they deserve to know that some of their officers _died_ and that they left a vehicle on a different continent."

Weiss made the call as they pursued Fennec's group. "They're letting us use the vehicle," Weiss said. "But they're getting it back in Kuo Kuana, and they'll continue the search. They'll be here around noon." The sky was no longer as star-studded. The sun hadn't yet crept over the horizon, but its light faded the weaker stars from the sky, and the blackness faded slightly as well.

The chase continued. Fennec and the Lieutenant made it into the jungle, and Ruby's best effort with the airship's spotlight wasn't enough. The brush became thick, and it blended together with the rest of Menagerie until the western coastline. For the second time, Fennec escaped.

"Are you kidding me?" Weiss vocalized in defeat. "Every time… it's the same thing."

"I don't know how long you've been dealing with this," Ruby said to Weiss, "but you'll catch them."

"I don't doubt that, it's just…" Weiss trailed off, looking at her scroll.

She returned to her father's contact and looked through the messages. The most recent one repeated what Jacques told her after the charity event. _"It's time to wake up and face reality."_

"It's just what?" Nora asked.

"I'll talk about it later." Weiss said, eyes still fixed on her scroll. "Ren?"

Ren answered, eyes still on the sky, "Yes, Weiss?"

"Are we headed back to Kuo Kuana?"

"Are you ready to make that call?" Ren returned.

Weiss sighed. "Yes, I am. I'm also ready to sleep." Weiss slouched in her seat. "But not before I let Yang know to change plans. She was going to come out in the morning." It became so. Weiss made sure Yang would wake up to a text letting her know to stay put.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" Ruby pressed.

Weiss closed her eyes and breathed in and out. "It's very hard to kill an idea, Ruby. Fennec Albain, his friends, they're all descended from Adam. Adam came after he thought the real leader, Khan, wasn't extreme enough. Ideas make people act when they think nobody else will. Now Adam is gone, so Fennec and Corsac are leading. When one leader dies, the next two take their place. It's like a hydra. It doesn't end."

"Like the Maidens too," Jaune thought aloud.

"Like the whats?" Weiss asked.

"It's a long story," the blonde boy said. "You deserve to know, but we'll tell you tomorrow."

"I'll be sure. Goodnight, everyone," Weiss said.

Weiss, Ruby, Jaune, and Nora fell asleep as Ren took them back to Menagerie in the airship.

* * *

"Good morning," Ren called to everyone as he landed the vehicle in the courtyard of Blake's home several hours later.

Slurred good-mornings came in response. The airship's noise stirred citizens from their small homes, but they returned inside once their curiosity was fed.

They knocked on the door. Kali answered. "What a surprise! Hello, everyone." She noticed the Mistralian vehicle. "I suppose that's how you got here so fast. How was your journey?"

"We found a Dust cave," Weiss said.

"That's great, dear," the cat mother returned. They came inside.

"Where is everyone?" Ruby asked. "It's not that early."

"It was a long night for us," Kali said. "They're still catching up on rest."

"That makes everybody," Jaune said.

As they walked through the house, Kali chuckled, "If you want to rest, you can. My husband is up early because we got your word about Fennec from Mistral. He's already organizing search forces. You still have your sleeping bags, right?"

Everyone affirmed. Weiss, however, said, "I don't. I only have a pillow. I was thinking I'd sleep in Blake's room since that's where I've slept before."

Kali thought Weiss's statement over with a testy grin. "I suppose you could. You might have to be careful." Kali dragged the last word out, and Weiss assumed she knew what that meant. Weiss reached Blake's room. Team RNJR retired to a family room on the ground floor instead.

"Of course, if she's sleeping," Weiss said. She cracked the door open slowly and saw Blake and Ilia cuddling in their sleep. Ilia's head rested on Blake's chest. "… with Ilia." Weiss continued. She shut the door and blushed toward Kali on the development.

Weiss went to rest with her expedition team as they rolled out sleeping bags.

As the sun became directly overhead, everyone woke. Blake and Ilia were the last to come for breakfast.

The rest of Teams RWBY and RNJR were nearly done eating, and the conversation shifted from the Maidens to Salem, to Blake and Yang's recruitment journey, and to Weiss and RNJR's expedition.

"I was going to sleep in Blake's room like I've done before," Weiss finished explaining the expedition to Yang, "but she slept with Ilia."

"Speaking of," Yang said, "there they are now." Blake and Ilia entered the dining room as Yang finished reacting to her interpretation of Weiss's words.

"So, Blake," Yang started, "did things get… _catty_ wampus last night?"

Blake looked away in her disapproval. "First," she began, "it's _cata_ wampus, and second, you know what happened. _No_." Blake sat down as Kali set food out for her and Ilia.

"But you _are_ blushing," Yang noted, defeated by Blake's serious nature but still defensive of her path of logic.

"But look. We're all here." Blake deflected, motioning to the complete reformation of the friends from Beacon.

After a short celebration, Yang apologized for misinterpreting Weiss when she said Blake slept with Ilia.

Ruby asked, "What did that big word mean, again?"

Blake gave a heavy sigh. "Catawampus means disheveled, disorderly, not uniformly spaced, not tidy, et cetera. Yang was _insinuating_ something trashy when she _knows_ what happened last night."

"Which was also disgusting," Ilia added. Blake shrugged in agreement.

"So… what happened?" Jaune asked.

Blake spoke of her past with the White Fang and compared Ilia's situation to it. She told of Adam's actions on herself and anyone he felt deserved them, and she told of Ilia's time with him and what he set in motion even after his death.

"And," Ilia finished Blake's story, "that leaves me, an eighteen-year-old single mother, with a faunus child of a random animal trait."

Team RNJR's eyes widened at the thought. "It sounds like…" Ruby said while squinting in thought, "What's it called? _The Gold and the Gorgeous_?"

Ilia tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"It's one of those TV shows from Mistral," Ruby replied. "With the ' _But Kasuto-kun, why won't you care for me?' 'I'm sorry, Himari-san, but my kokoro has been stolen by Kokoro-chan_ _.'_ " Despite Ruby's notably high pitch of speaking, she managed to raise it further to emulate the dialogue from the show.

"Right," Ilia said amid everyone's laughter at Ruby's portrayal. "That's how Blake described it yesterday."

Ruby's scroll vibrated. "Oh, it's a text from Uncle Qrow," she said. "He wants us all back in Mistral. Lionheart thinks something might brew again."

"We should all go," Nora said. "Though I'd have figured it would be Atlas now."

Kali came to accompany the fighters-in-training. "What is next for all of you?" she asked them. "Now that you've found Dust."

Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren looked at Weiss as the expedition's leader. "I don't know," was all she had to offer.

"We would go for more Dust, right, Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"We _would_ , but… no, Ruby," Weiss said, slouching in her personal defeat.

"What does that mean?" Jaune asked.

"It means…" Weiss slowed through her thoughts. "It means I'm tired of being followed by Fennec and all that. You've seen how crafty he is. He's evaded us twice now, and he knows how to push our plans away. He's not going to stop."

"So _you_ will?" Ruby asked. "Even after what you said last night, that it's hard to kill an idea? You're going to quit because of Fennec?"

Blake didn't say a word; she was too focused on watching Weiss to decipher her motives that way. Yang was distanced from what Ruby mentioned of the airship, but she would have butted in if she knew the situation.

"No, Ruby. I'm not _quitting_ ," Weiss said, fists weighing down the table. "I'm picking the battles I know I need to fight. After going through the desert, it was too costly of an adventure to reap the reward we got. Sure, we will sell the Dust we found and keep some because we fight with it, but that money should go to the White Fang instead. They collapsed the cave system and likely exploded all of its Dust with it, so now we have nothing to go off. I'm only in Menagerie, where I'm surprised one of Adam's goons hasn't _assassinated_ me yet, because I'm trying to avenge my family from my father, and I don't think a new Dust company will achieve that anymore. Will _that_ answer suffice?"

The packed table stayed motionless, eyes darting between Ruby and Weiss after she went off. Ruby made a few facial expressions, trying out emotions to convey and not able to find one as Weiss acted upon her in anger.

Weiss sat up straight. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I shouldn't have spoken like that. But… Schnees don't quit. I've been at this for my whole life. If I'm going to die, I'm taking my father's 'finest of them all' record with me."

"Accepted," Ruby said. "There should still be Dust out there, though."

"And we'll go for it once I restore the SDC out of its damning operations," Weiss countered. "We don't have the kind of resources right now. We'll start a proper mine once we have the company's backing."

"For now, though?" Yang asked.

"For now," Weiss said, "we go to Mistral and sell our Dust to a retailer, and the money will go to White Fang efforts in Mistral and Atlas."

"That's a good idea," Ilia said. "I think I'll stay here, though. I can't fight with a child."

"Whatever you need," Blake said. "Don't make my mom force you to accept her help. She will do it."

"She already has," Ilia said in small but genuine laughter.

* * *

Two days later, Weiss, Blake, Ruby, Yang, Jaune, Nora, and Ren exited _Dust In The Wind_ , a local Mistralian Dust shop, after selling most of their find.

"If you're heading to your uncle, you should take this," Weiss said. She gave Ruby the strange item from the Grimm that attacked her in the Menagerie Outback. "Maybe Qrow could make sense of it given how much he knows."

"We'll see you soon," Ruby said. "Good luck with the White Fang in Atlas, you two!" Weiss and Blake parted ways with the rest of the group, who headed to the rented home to reunite with Qrow and Oscar.


	14. The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

**-Chapter 14: The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow-**

"This meeting has begun," Whitley said as he sat down. "As the current SDC CEO, I thank you all for your time."

Whitley was positioned at the end of a long table in an ornate room with the directors who represent the SDC's horizontal integration. His father retained a large equity of the company, and with it, he retained a seat at this board meeting.

The directors of acquisition, personal resources, public relations, retail, and consumer goods also held a straight posture.

"Especially you, Retail Director Graham," Whitley continued. "I've been waiting to hear the situation in Vale considering the climate there after Beacon fell. Have our sales rebounded, or has the trend continued as we've seen it this past year?"

"Thank you, Mr. Schnee," Director Graham said to the young boy. "Unfortunately, Vale continues to be in low demand. The huntsmen are reliant upon us, but Vale's population has decreased since Beacon collapsed. Many people moved to family abroad."

Graham was the youngest of the executive board. His hair had the least gray, but he fit in by wearing an all-white suit. Graham's blonde hair was oiled to the side, and his narrow-brim glasses rested low on his nose. He was a strong upstart in the company, and he used his connections to further the SDC's reach.

"Of course," Whitley said. "Are we maintaining market control, sir?"

"As always, Mr. Schnee," said Graham. "However, new businesses also factor into my monthly report."

"How so?"

"This is not uncommon," said the director. "Obviously, they never pose a true threat, but the most interesting one comes from Mistral. A group named _Menagerie Dust Company_ sold resources to a Mistralian shop last week."

Jacques lowered his brow at the name.

"That's a new market," Whitley noted.

Graham shrugged, "Not a new market, but a new mine, clearly. Menagerie has no use for Dust. Most villages even in kingdom limits don't have the desire for Dust."

"How would you explain those mines, then?" Whitley asked.

"Certainly, the new location has Dust reserves," Graham said. "but I did some digging. I contacted the retailer, and the man said the company was started by Weiss Schnee, your sister."

Jacques interrupted, "Excuse me?" Realizing his actions, he continued with, "Pardon me, but what else do you know about my daughter?"

"The manager told me not to take the company seriously, sir. Weiss sold the Dust and gave the name as a formality. He said she wouldn't be selling again."

Jacques rested his elbows on the table and folded his hands. "Good," was all he had to say.

"But," Retail Director Graham began, "that led me to do more digging." He turned to his satchel and pulled out a newspaper. "This came out of Menagerie. It is a recent copy of _The Menagerie Sun_ , which publishes weekly. Not many copies leave that island, and they only export to Mistral. It also mentions the Menagerie Dust Company." He held the paper for the executive board to see. "There's also a picture of Weiss Schnee, wearing… I'm not sure what sort of dress that is. I assumed it is local attire."

"Thank you, Director," Whitley said. "May I see the paper?" It was passed to him, and he began to read it. "The article isn't about Weiss," he said after some time reading.

"You're right," said Graham. "Most of it is about a White Fang attack within the island."

"That sounds about right," Jacques said, fitting it into his preconceived notions about the old group.

"Yes," Graham said, "but the end of the article mentions her. The White Fang's power shifted to a peaceful leader once more, and Weiss is also a ruling member of the organization. This news has been all over Mistral, and since then, the new leadership has spread its influence in every kingdom. The militant White Fang is over."

"Don't be so facetious, Director Graham," Jacques said. "The White Fang has opposed us since they began, and for no founded reason. They have never been peaceful."

"That is true, sir," Graham said. "Yet, I recall my position opening after the previous member, Director Wasabi, was executed at their hands. Without the militancy that led to that, we have less to worry about."

"I didn't build this company by worrying less, Graham," Jacques said. "We play our cards when the pile suits them, and as far as that is concerned, nothing about the pile has changed."

Director Graham sat defeated. "Yes, sir," he said.

"So my daughter is among them now," Jacques said. "If that means anything, they will continue to strangle this company. Weiss will have to return to Atlas. We find her, then we can put an end to the organization _and_ her wild dreams for good."

* * *

Weiss, Blake, and Winter returned to the initial Atlas meeting place for the second White Fang meeting under the duo's leadership. They wore their panther pins.

The public space was not nearly as crowded as before. The mandatory reassignment yielded the first crowd. This second crowd was only those who cared enough to attend and not rely on an email summary of the meeting after the fact. Winter continued to run screenings.

Weiss answered her scroll. "Hello, Ruby."

"Hey, Weiss," her former leader said. "We just got out of the meeting with Professor Lionheart."

"What did he say about the computer thing?"

"He called it a memory card. He said he would talk to a local computer company about it, and they would decode it."

"Good. Is there anything else?"

"Qrow said it looked like a bullet, but I don't know. I didn't really see the resemblance."

"Now that you mention it," Weiss said, "it did seem like a bullet. As if it were pinned to the back of an Atlas Military round."

"How would you know how those look, Weiss?"

"Father and General Ironwood used to be better friends. Some Schnee functions would have Atlas personnel guarding them."

"I take it they were necessary?" Ruby asked.

"Why else would I know what their bullets look like?"

"If you knew what they looked like, you'd have said when we found it in the Grimm."

Weiss sighed. "It's been years, Ruby. I hardly remember a day before my father hated the general."

"I guess you're right."

Weiss began to think. "If someone outfitted a computer device into a bullet and shot the Grimm… there is some sort of foul play here. Dust rounds, sure, but computer chip rounds are something else. I'm going to contact General Ironwood. Thank you, Ruby."

"You're welcome," Ruby said before pausing. "Wait, you have his number?"

"Yes. He offered me it once to show he was on my side, like against my father, but I haven't used it."

"Oooh. That's good. Stay safe, Weiss."

"No promises. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Blake approached Weiss. "That sounds interesting."

"It was," Weiss said. "I was in the middle of the desert, and it came out of a Grimm. We fought other Grimm, but you know."

As the gathering surrounded them, Flynt and Neon came up. "Hello, you two," said Flynt.

"It's good to see you again," said Blake.

"So, what's today's business?" said Neon.

"First, I wanted to give you this," Weiss told Flynt, handing him a few Lien cards. "It's a small cut of what little Dust we found, but I'm putting that goal to rest for now.

"Thank you, Schnee," he said. "You didn't have to, you know."

"I know, but I felt indebted to you for not… not coming through with how I originally wanted to help," the activist said.

"Blake told me about that plan," the trumpeter said. "It's all good."

"And now," Blake answered Neon, "we are going to stage a boycott of Schnee products."

"Gotta start somewhere I suppose," the orange cat faunus said.

"Other than that, we would help fund good lawyers for faunus rights cases in the court system," said Weiss. "Those don't happen too often, though."

"Excuse me," came a voice. Weiss and Blake turned to the entrance, where Winter just allowed a group of people with cameras through. The only one without equipment, a woman, spoke. "My name is Canvas Azaria. We are with the AI, Atlas Informant. We wanted to ask you both about your plans for this organization."

"Certainly," Weiss said. "Did you attend our other meeting in Atlas? I was not here, but that was a foundational meeting for us." They nodded to the negative. "Both of us will give speeches later. I hope much of that answers your questions, but we have some time beforehand to talk."

"Of course," the woman said. "The crew will set up at that blank wall. We will call for you when ready."

"Will it be live?" Weiss asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Canvas said. "These days, we try to be as fast as possible, but we're not a 24-hour network. We will talk to you soon!" The reporter rejoined her crew as they set up for the interview.

"Why did you ask that?" Blake said.

Weiss replied, "I'm worried. If it were live, my father would see it and try to come for me. I don't want to face him yet."

"When are you going to confront him?" Flynt asked.

Weiss sighed. "I won't. I don't have to. If I'm going to continue this path of publicity, he'll find a way to find me. If I'm successful, the only place he won't come looking for me is Menagerie. That's why I've been staying there."

"But you aren't… afraid… to face him," Flynt countered, questioning the flow of ideas.

"Not necessarily," she answered. "I know I'm in the right. Anything he does he'll have to defend. And I'm armed. I think his Aura is unlocked but only for safety reasons. Other than that, he doesn't have anything to come after me with."

Blake and Weiss prepared their statements, and they addressed the crowd after their time with Canvas. Members of the Atlesian board, including Flynt and Neon, also gave short statements.

The Schnee Dust Company boycott was now in full effect on the northernmost continent. Everything from raw and powdered energy to Shi-nee toothpaste would lose profit.

After the meeting adjourned, Weiss reopened her scroll and dialed a new number. "Hello, this is General Ironwood," it answered.

"Hello, sir. This is Weiss Schnee."

"Ah yes," he began. "Miss Schnee, what brings you to call me?"

"It's a fairly long story, but you need to know," she said.

"Please, begin."

"Have there been any reports of Atlas Military ammunitions disappearing?"

Ironwood was silent for a few seconds. "That's an odd way to start, but yes. There have been."

"I'll explain. I've been in Menagerie, which doesn't have much kingdom defense. One of the Grimm I killed had an Atlesian Military round in it, but it was outfitted with components of a computer's memory card. I asked because it seemed there is no good reason for that technology to be in a small bullet."

"It certainly isn't our doing, but I believe you."

"It was a fairly minor Grimm," Weiss started, "so it wouldn't have survived that sort of attack either. I'm not certain what it is for, but my friends in Mistral got a tech company to research it. Headmaster Lionheart knows. You may want to talk to him."

"I will. Thank you, Miss Schnee. Is there anything else you wish to talk about?"

"Have you spoken to my father recently?"

"Yes. Last I was there, he showed me your quarters." Ironwood paused for a breath. "It was an admirable sight, but don't be surprised of the lengths your father may go to rein you in."

"He hasn't done anything yet," Weiss said.


	15. Assurance Policy

**-Chapter 15: Assurance Policy-**

"We need to get out of here." Weiss said. The news segment from AI is going to start any minute, and we haven't gotten out of here." She stood with Blake, Winter, Flynt, and Neon, cleaning up after the meeting was long finished.

"Quit being so paranoid," Neon Katt said.

"No, she is right to be nervous," Blake said. "I survived a pretty long hunt for me after I left the Fang and before I got to Beacon. It's not paranoia."

"You should head out, all of you," Winter said. "I will take care of the rest." The buzzing of rotors echoed into the ballroom. "You must go."

"Where to, Weiss?" Blake asked.

"Same as always," she said. "Let's get on that boat to Mistral and take another back to your place."

"We'll drive you there," Flynt said.

As they got to the parking garage and entered Flynt's car, Weiss led the way and darted her head as she did so.

The car doors closed around the four. "C'mon, Weiss. Relax. I've got it from here," Flynt said, turning the ignition. "Me and my trusty GPS got you covered."

"I know, I know," the former heiress said. "Doesn't change that I can't help but get tense about my father. From now on, my life is going to be _mine_. Until he dies, he has no say."

Blake's cat ears perked up at Weiss' words. Down to the inflections in her voice, she seemed to go word for word on part of what Ilia told Blake about Adam. _"My life is going to be_ his _. Until I_ die _,"_ she remembered. So too came to her all the feelings she had that night.

The thought prompted her to open her messages with Ilia as Flynt exited the parking garage and headed for the pier. Ilia's most recent text was, _"Stay safe out there. And take it easy with me. I'll be fine."_

" _I know you will,"_ Blake had responded, ending that conversation when she arrived in Atlas earlier that day.

The emotional floodgates were opened, so she sent another message. _"Where do you want us to be as two people?"_

Ilia's response was near-instantaneous. _"I've been having those thoughts."_

" _Did you have any answers?"_ the cat asked.

" _I'd rather talk about this in person,"_ Ilia replied. _"It's not every day I have feelings for someone."_

" _So that means…"_ Blake pressed, resting her head back in the car, running through how she feels about Ilia and about all the different responses she might get.

" _It means we'll talk in person."_ Soon after, Ilia must have realized the mixed signals and said, _"Relax. We've got it from here."_ Ilia went word for word on what Flynt had said only a few minutes beforehand, giving Blake another déjà vu moment.

"So, Weiss," Neon asked. "How do you like Menagerie?"

"I love it," Weiss said. "If I wasn't pursuing my company's wrongs, I'd never leave."

"I can see that," the orange cat said. "That's how I was when I grew up there. But after a while, it starts to feel sorta depressing. Just… y'know, _why_ I lived there."

"I understand," Weiss said. "If I can get the SDC, I hope I can open work there and make the conditions better."

"That'd be a first," Neon said. "An outsider, and a human too, expanding a business there. I wonder if it's even allowed."

"I'm sure the council let me when they know my intentions and let me prove how righteous I am."

"What about you, Blake?" Flynt said, looking at Blake through his rearview mirror as he drove.

The girl didn't answer. Her conversation with Ilia took her back to the night the chameleon announced her pregnancy. She recalled seeing more of Ilia than anyone had besides Adam. When Ilia showed the bruise on her lower breast, Blake saw the girl in a few different lights.

First, the setting sun was doing wonders for Ilia's frame that evening. Second, Ilia showed her vulnerability not only to her abuser, but also to Blake. Lastly, whisperings of a girl in need of a second parent to help raise her child began to enter Blake's thoughts.

In her attempt to convince Ilia she was a strong, independent woman as they had said before, Blake later realized in the car how independent she didn't want to be. A child was going to depend on Ilia, and she wanted to too. After getting Adam's scar off her chest that night, she wanted herself and Ilia to confide everything in each other, more than she ever could with Weiss or Sun. She wanted someone to share every battle scar with, and Ilia understood and felt them all.

Blake was falling in love.

After the cat and chameleon returned to the Blake's room to sleep that night, Blake was on another level with the girl. She gave a chaste kiss to the side of Ilia's large forehead in confidence it would help the girl's mental standing.

Blake could still feel Ilia's lips from when the favor was returned to Blake's mouth.

"Blake?" Flynt repeated.

"Huh?" the black cat vocalized as she looked up from her scroll.

"How do you like living in Menagerie?"

"I'm- I'm mixed," she said, fumbling through her thoughts as she exited a daydream. "It's partially for _why_ it's home but also some optimism more recently- since I, _we_ I mean, have the White Fang now."

"I can see that," Flynt said. "Best of luck to you- you're pretty brave for being the face of all this. Weiss too."

"Thank you," they said in unison.

"We're almost at the pier," Flynt said. "No need to worry about your father now, Weiss."

* * *

That same moment, Jacques and Whitley landed in their family helicopter on the roof of the parking garage where Winter was about to leave. Her military aircraft sat atop the structure, door opened as her family exited their vehicle. Klein, as their pilot, looked out the window and smiled to Winter.

"Hello, sister," Whitley said, the brisk Atlesian air chilling his scalp as it flowed through his hair.

"Hello, little Whitley," the eldest sibling responded. "I hear you are the head of the company now. Congratulations." She held her posture straight and saved face by pretending to care.

"Enough of that, Winter," Jacques said. "What are you doing here?"

"The Atlesian military guards all public events over a certain attendance threshold. I was assigned to guard those of the reborn White Fang," Winter said in a half-truth.

"Atlas considers them legitimate?" Whitley asked.

"James can't tell the difference," Jacques said to his son.

" _General Ironwood_ ," Winter began, "recognized the change. Jacques, clearly during your time leading the SDC you recognized changes to keep the company relevant. There are other changes, yet, that you have refused to acknowledge."

Jacques and Whitley caught the light reflecting from Winter's White Fang pin. "I see you've changed too," the old man said. "So Weiss truly was here."

"Correct," the eldest Schnee sibling said. "She continues to evade you, however. She is long gone back to Menagerie."

"That may be so, but right now, I'm not as concerned of her as of you," Jacques retorted. "No person wearing that logo has the right to be in my business."

"What do I have to gain from _your son's_ business, Father?" Winter challenged. "Perhaps consider the weight of the situation before giving empty threats." Neither male Schnee had a rebuttal. "Farewell, both of you. I must report my work." With both sides giving empty expressions, Winter boarded her aircraft and snapped her fingers, signaling the pilot to take off. The bay door closed, and she disappeared into the Atlesian sky.

Jacques and Whitley boarded the family aircraft. "Take us to Mistral, Klein. All eyes will be looking for Weiss soon enough." The butler acted accordingly.

* * *

Now well into interkingdom waters, Weiss and Blake had a lot of downtime on their hands as the sun began to paint the sky. They relaxed on the upper deck of the boat, admiring the view.

"Are you alright, Weiss?" Blake asked.

"I could ask you the same," Weiss said. "Yes, I am. I should see if everything went alright with Winter. And… not to be too nosy, but what were you looking at in the car? You're never on your scroll that much."

"It's Ilia," Blake said.

"I understand. Is she doing well? I can't imagine how it must make her feel."

Blake dodged the truth of her concerns and went along with Weiss, saying, "She's doing well, yes. Last I heard, my mother's forcing her to drink goat's milk. It's a Menagerie thing." The two shared a smile.

They heard a hum in the distance, and Weiss recognized it quickly.

"Oh no…" she said. She turned toward it and identified the helicopter she'd ridden in before.

"What's going on?" Blake asked.

Weiss pointed to something little more than a speck in the evening sky. "He's here."

Her scroll buzzed. _"I can see you,"_ read the newest message from Jacques.

From the ocean's depths came a low roar strong enough to vibrate the commercial ship, sending everyone off-balance. Out leaped a large, black whale Grimm, rivaling the boat in length.

Jacques made Klein follow the boat from a safe elevation, eager to see his results.


	16. Great Escapes

**-Chapter 16: Great Escapes-**

"Blake, you said this happened before," Weiss said, shifting her weight as the whale's waves rocked the boat. Sirens initiated, leading the citizens on board to panic and run. The whale's tailfin seemed to have a joint bending in any direction, not merely vertically. For a large whale, it was very nimble.

"A dragon came at me and Sun after we left Beacon."

"So, what do we do?" Weiss asked, looking back and forth at the water and the boat.

The boat mechanized itself. Cannons came from under the floorboards and out of the wall panels. "Let's find the captain," Blake answered. "He's likely been through a similar Grimm."

They ran through the boat and to the control deck. "How can we help, captain?" Blake asked.

"This won't work the same as the sea dragon did, sweetie," said the familiar face. "Got anyone named Jonah?" After the duo's confusion, he continued, "Explosives?"

"Yes, sir," Weiss said.

"Down its throat with them. We have to be careful. Nothing will pierce that armor. When fighting without rockets against a war tank, the best bet is dropping a grenade down the hatch. Same here."

"Got it," Blake said, and they went out to the bow as the Schnee helicopter continued to watch from above.

"Matte, starboard side," the captain continued. "Morty, port cannons. Only fire on the open shots. Inti, take the wheel. The heavy cannon is _mine_!"

The whale surfaced once more, almost directly underneath the boat from the left. "Blake, here's some Dust from the mine." Blake accepted Weiss' fuel and loaded her capsules with it.

Weiss sprung off the boat and landed on a glyph she set flat in the air. "What are you doing out there?" Blake asked, yelling now from the distance between them.

"Getting a better angle," Weiss yelled back. When the whale jumped at her, she changed the glyph to antigravity and flung herself high into the air, but not nearly close to leveling with the family helicopter. On her way down, she shifted her rapier to fire Dust and released into the Grimm's maw. It flopped backward and continued swimming. Weiss landed on the ship.

"We're going to have to hit harder," Weiss said. A cannon shot reverberated through the water.

"Do you have anything for that?" Blake said.

Weiss nodded. "Give me some time." Another cannon fired. The whale dodged it, flying out of the water and landing on top of the boat. Weiss shot more fire Dust into it, and Blake launched a fire clone inside, promptly knocking it off and leveling the boat.

Blake ran to the pole extending from the ship's front and jumped off, securing her rope to it. The whale saw her downswing, took her for food, and climbed out the water. The elasticity allowed Blake to rebound high into the air, and she threw a fire clone into its mouth before landing on the boat.

"What is it, Weiss?" Blake looked over to see Weiss had summoned her suit of armor.

"Get me up there," Weiss said, now wearing her creation. Blake once more used the ship's bow for leverage, flinging Weiss into the air. For extra measure, Weiss used an antigravity glyph to fling higher. Once at the same elevation as her family's helicopter, she used yet another glyph as a mere platform. Seeing the men of her old life inside, she waved with eyebrows lowered and lip raised on the ends.

Klein was hiding some delight in the cockpit, but Jacques and Whitley peered over his shoulder in confused anger at her in the energy armor. Just as quickly as Weiss landed high up, she departed down to the surface. Another cannon fired, making contact and sending the Grimm from its upward velocity onto the boat, remaining on it this time.

Weiss flung the armor's sword down, helping defend against capsizing. Blake was also shooting inside the beast.

The Schnee panicked in her descent. She separated herself from the armor. There was no open mouth. She found something else. As the whale Grimm oriented right-side-up, it revealed to her its blowhole. Mentally in sync with her armor, she directed it to the orifice.

A gravity glyph slowed Weiss' fall as the armor both plugged the hole and exploded from deep inside, killing the black whale.

Upon its disintegration, the boat rocked back into ease as another bullet began to roll out of the whale carcass. Weiss saw it and caught it as it rolled off the side of the boat.

The sirens stopped. Humans and faunus walked above deck again. The captain came to meet Weiss and Blake at the front. "Huntresses," he said. "We've still got a problem. The beast breached our hull."

"How are we needed?" Weiss asked.

"If you have any ice Dust on you, we've used that before. The ocean is too salty to melt it." The captain directed them to a low hold. "Right there. A few panels are damaged."

"We've got it, sir," Weiss said. Weiss masterfully painted ice between boards as if it were brick and mortar. Blake plugged a few holes manually and left an ice copy of herself.

"What was that?" Weiss asked.

"What, another leak somewhere?" Blake said.

"No," Weiss answered. "I hear someone down the hall." Weiss went back to the hallway and looked. "Crying. A little kid I think."

"Go ahead and look. I'll keep an eye over here."

Weiss followed the sound and met with a young boy, no more than seven, stuck behind a bed. "Shshshsh," Weiss said to console him. She entered the room and moved the bed out of his way, only to find he wasn't the only person stuck. The large male figure fell limp to the floor when it came free.

"My daddy's not moving," said the kid. Weiss rolled the large man over. His eyelids were half closed. His neck was limp most of all.

In that moment, Weiss didn't know how to handle herself. "Where is mommy?" she asked him.

"Mistral," he said.

"You'll see mommy tomorrow." Weiss couldn't bring herself to explain anything to the young thing, but she knew someone had to. She left the suite, she walked to Blake, and she thought " _My father is responsible for death._ "

Night came and went, and soon the boat saw the coast of Mistral. The Schnee helicopter abandoned them after the whale Grimm died, but it revisited the docks in wait for their arrival. No matter how calamitous the open water may have become, waves settled as they reached the shore. When the commercial ship docked, Jacques had Klein disable autopilot. "Let's bring her home," he said. The helicopter hovered low. The main sightline focused on the gangway's end. They saw neither Weiss nor Blake disembark.

"Out the cannon panel," Weiss said. "Neptune said he and Sun are at the end of the 9th street cul-de-sac. It's through a couple houses to the left of the lower docks."

Weiss and Blake weaved through houses before entering Neptune's car. "There she is, Father," Whitley said. "In the opening to the left. The dark gray sedan that's pulling out." Whitley and his father peered out the same window as Klein gave them a vantage point.

"Neptune, have you been to Ruby's house yet?" Weiss asked.

"A couple times," Sun affirmed.

"My father is onto us. If you need to use a tunnel or not, do it anyway."

The Schnee helicopter attempted to stay as low as possible as Neptune drove between tall trees and houses scattered to wherever the hilly landscape could fit them. Central Mistral was built on a mountain for protection against Grimm, and tunnels were built to cut travel time and add safer, flatter roadways.

"RNJR's home is through one anyway. Don't worry. I know the streets," said Neptune.

As Klein flew, he said, "See now they drove into a tunnel. We'll never be able to tell where they'll come out of the mountain."

"Most of them don't have turns, Klein. Are you sure?" Jacques said.

"Parkway M-30 has two intersections in there. They could come out any side of the mountain, a few different elevations if they wanted," the butler said. Though he knew the M-30 road was straight and uninterrupted, the butler pretended he didn't know exactly where Weiss would be.

It was not the first time Klein helped Weiss against her father's will.

* * *

"Alright everyone, are the Schnees still following you?" Yang asked as they filed through the door. Team RNJR, Qrow, and Oscar came to greet.

"We lost them a while back," Sun said.

"So what's this about a bullet?" Neptune asked.

"We found it inside a Grimm in Menagerie. Does anyone know what that tech company was able to learn about it?" Weiss said.

Everyone gathered in the living room and sat in a circle. They had been watching the news, so Nora muted it. "The company we had looking into it, Xanadu Circuits, said it resembled a chip in WattsTech computers," Qrow said.

"Though, Watts is their biggest rival, so Lionheart said it might have just been a bad blood thing," said Ruby.

"Don't play it off like that," said Qrow. "I've said how I feel about Watts, but Leo is a real card. He's very quick to play it safe. He loves conspiracies. Anything to shift blame or use as an excuse, he jumps for. He's a coward."

"What if it _was_ Watts?" Jaune said. "What do you think, Weiss?"

"I don't know about him," she said, "but I know my father has been responsible for all of the Grimm I've seen recently."

"There you go," Qrow said. "Best Atlas Buddies- your father and Watts. Two high end, monopolistic powerhouses helping maintain each other's markets."

"Does your father even know Watts?" Yang asked.

"Yes," Weiss said. "He's been to the Schnee manor for meetings before."

"What kind of meetings?" Blake asked.

"Just personal. Just one-on-ones. Nothing big or too collaborative," the Schnee said. "Another computerized bullet came out of the whale Grimm Blake and I killed yesterday." The two bullets were identical.

"And every time this has happened, it was after my father texted me, which he's never done before," Weiss said.

"How do you think that plays into the Grimm?" Ruby asked.

"As I've said before," Qrow began, "Watts is as bad for society as Tyrian, Cinder, and Hazel- he's the guy you saw when the militant White Fang killed each other. He works with the Grimm. He was likely a part of the play that took down Beacon. If he was truly conspiring with Lionheart the day we passed by him, Leo is dodging for a reason. Every scroll in every pocket and on every desk isn't truly secure, but we can't help ourselves to get rid of them."

"So you're saying that if Watts really works with Grimm…" Nora pressed.

"Then so can Mr. Snowflake," Qrow finished. "Old people don't text. If one starts and only then do Grimm show up, it means something. That's causation."

Weiss' scroll vibrated from a text from Flynt. " _My father reopened his Dust shop. I've been part-time there. SDC sells, but they've been doing much worse than smaller suppliers._ "

" _Good to hear,_ " Weiss replied. " _Think it's the boycott or something else?_ "

" _The boycott. It's working here at least._ "

Blake texted Ilia. " _Atlas WF should hold well for a while. Grimm came at sea, but we're fine. Staying the night in Mistral. See you soon_."

"Wait, wait, wait, guys," Jaune said. He was looking at the TV as a fresh news-crawl scrolled by. "Something happened in Menagerie."

Nora grabbed the remote. A field reporter appeared and said, "As you can see live, an explosion just occurred at Menagerie Central Prison. Police have confirmed it to come from an inmate, but it seems they were far too late to respond many of the breakouts. High ranking former White Fang member, Corsac Albain, is among the escapees. This story is still developing, and our helicopter is on the scene. Aerial coverage will continue until further developments are made. As it stands currently, many of society's rejects have become wanted once more."

Ilia responded to Blake. " _It looks like you'll see some militants soon too._ "

" _News travels that fast now?_ " Blake wondered. " _Every militant that's left is roaming free._ "


	17. Foxholes Out Back

**-Chapter 17: Foxholes Out Back-**

The news continued to play in Team RNJR's Mistral home. "Eyewitness report confirmed suspects of the breakout heading into the northern forest in their getaway. Police organized search units once more, but the previous two attempts at finding militant former White Fang forces were futile.

Flynt continued to text Weiss. " _Also, the Atlas board moved not to stage a sit-in at SDC mines. I voted against, but it was close, and we may vote the issue again."_

It sparked Weiss to respond via phone call. "Hey, Schnee," Flynt opened.

"Whatever you do, not a sit-in," the leader said, getting to the point.

"Easy there. What's got you?" he asked.

"Boycotts are one thing, Flynt. That's protesting via absence. A sit-in is a strike. That's via presence. That's a protest that could turn into a riot. I am not having that."

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. Most of us just thought we're still getting our feet wet," Flynt said. "That's why I said no. It's too soon."

"Exactly. We still have to gauge the boycott. You said it's doing well. Keep at it. That's all we should need," Weiss said. "I'll follow up with you later. The militant group is restructuring after its remainder busted out of the Menagerie prison."

"Take care."

Weiss closed the call and turned to Blake. "How can we help in Menagerie?"

"It's time we find their home in the woods," Blake said, eyes still fixed to the TV.

Blake called Ilia. "Do you know of a White Fang base in the northern forest?"

"Yes," the chameleon girl said. "After Weiss crossed them in the desert, they'll probably be heading back there after the police tore apart the base we went to."

"Do the police know where the forest base is?"

"I think so."

"Are you going to make sure, Ilia?"

"Well…" she said with concern, "then I would get apprehended for knowing about it as a former member."

Blake began quickly, "Not if… not if they know your intent- if you're willing to cooperate. My father will do right by you."

"Blake… come here. You have as much to do about it as me."

"Only if you're back from investigating a base by the time I get there."

"Affirmative. See you in two."

"See you in two." Weiss and Blake bid farewell to friends and sailed south.

* * *

As they had it, two days later, Weiss and Blake reached the latter's home.

Ilia, having waited patiently, opened the door. "It's great to see you again, Blake, Weiss. It's been too long." Blake and Ilia shared an embrace in which Blake felt Ilia's growing baby press against her.

"You're starting to show," Weiss noted. "I hope you're doing well." Ilia shrugged and nodded. She was about to speak until she figured her actions conveyed the feelings well enough.

Blake asked, "How did your search go yesterday?"

Ilia said, "We took another look at the base on the rock cliffs. It was vacant. Everything was still lying there."

"Do you know where to look in the forest?"

Ilia sighed. "Yes. I'll lead you and some officers there, but I'm not going inside. It's not only my life I'm risking."

"Don't worry about it," Weiss said. "We have to phase out that part of Fang history. It's on us."

Police Captain Ivory alongside, Ilia led Weiss and Blake into the forest. "Be careful," the chameleon girl said. "They grew poisonous plants around the compound for security."

Though there was a defined dirt path, it was hidden so deep in brush nobody could see it from town. It widened after places Ilia pointed out poison plants. Weiss still had the tech bullet from the whale Grimm. She twirled it in her fingers.

"Blake, do you remember what Ruby's uncle said about this and the Grimm?" she asked.

"That your father is siccing Grimm on you?"

"Yes."

"Do you not believe him?" Blake asked.

"No, I do, but he sounded like my father. Speaking as if every conspiracy theory is clear, lacking any form of nuance or opposition. At least it wasn't combined with subtle discrimination, but it worries me."

"We're getting close now," Ilia said. "It's been a few days, so I don't expect more than one or two people to be here. The Albain brothers and a few sympathizers likely crossed through the night of, but this base is more of a stepping stone to others farther east."

"Can you point us to other bases?" Captain Ivory asked.

"Yes, but travel will be a while for them since… well, you already picked the other close one clean," Ilia said.

"No matter," said the captain. "If we can interrogate someone today, we should be well off."

Blake checked the sequence of Dust in Gambol Shroud in case they fought. Weiss set her Dust chamber. Ilia had her whip, but she planned not to use it.

"Everyone, keep quiet. Blake?" Ilia whispered. "Do you see the tree with three claw marks?" The cat girl said yes. "Behind it and to the left is a hole in the ground. You should stand there. It's a back entrance."

"Who is going in?" the Blake asked.

"I am," Ivory replied.

"I would have offered," Weiss suggested.

"You don't have night vision. It's pitch black down there," Blake said.

"You two, follow me." Ilia led Weiss and the officer down the path farther and stationed Weiss at a fallen log. "That covers another hole. Stay on guard while Ivory goes in."

Captain Ivory moved the boulder, revealing another foxhole. She made herself small and crab-walked into the opening.

Weiss, Blake, and Ilia remained silent as the elephant faunus traveled underground. Rustling came, and Blake felt the ground under her crack, causing dirt to fall below the surface. Moments later, a faunus in Menagerie Fang robes scurried out near Weiss and was trapped in a cage of glyphs. Blake threw one end of her weapon and caught it on the man's wrist, tying him. He dropped a standard rifle in the surprise.

"We have him, Captain Ivory, you can come out," Weiss said.

The faunus had yellow bat ears, a trait that greatly helped him protect the fort. Ivory appeared behind his back with handcuffs, and Blake relieved him of her ribbon.

"You're a quiet one," Ivory said. "What's your name?"

After a few seconds of silence, Ilia said, "Zoran Scouser."

"Sunrise, huh?" the police captain asked to his face. "Your parents must have been in this business too." He remained straight-faced and silent.

"Ivory, check his left pocket," Ilia said.

She did so, and she found something of interest. "A transceiver?" she asked. "You're wired."

"I hear everything," Zoran said, twitching his bat ears. "So too shall the fox brothers."

Ivory nodded to Blake, who felt for a wire on the bat faunus. She found it on his back, so she ripped his shirt from his pants and slashed the wire taped to his abdomen. "For the evidence," she said as she gave the police captain the transceiver.

Ivory called into her radio. "Chieftain," she said, "I have a positive ID on a militant male bat faunus of the former Fang, name: 'Zoran Scouser.'… He is detained, sir…. Yes, the girls are well… Thank you, sir. Sign off." She turned to the future convict. "Start talking. What happened to Adam Taurus?"

"You _don't_ know?" he said, his voice deeper than his thin body let on.

"I know you don't," she countered.

"He's dead. He was killed months ago."

"Who killed him?"

"How is anyone supposed to know that? Anyone who made it out of there alive was delusional."

"Would you believe it was Blake here, accompanied by the former heiress to the SDC?"

"You traitor," he said. "He was your best chance at freedom."

"That makes two of us," Ilia said. "That makes one of every faunus _and_ human Weiss and Blake met across all four kingdoms. Zoran, I can lead Menagerie PD anywhere on this island. I knew the Albains wouldn't be here."

"You'll never find them."

"Either way," Blake said, "our pasts have the habit of haunting us."

"They aren't on the island anymore," Ilia said. "We'll raid the other camps, but Mistral backroads house them better if they aren't in this bunker."

"That about does it for us," Ivory said. "I will take Zoran with me. You three should look underground for anything you believe to be important. Other forces will come by later for an official investigation. That being said, it is in your best interest to leave things how you found them." By the end of her words, she executed a piercing stare.

They bid farewells. Ivory had Zoran in one hand and her radio in the other. "Chief Bernard…" the captain said, "I'm returning now… Sign off."

Weiss, Blake, and Ilia entered the compound, now surrounded by darkness and dirt. Weiss made a torch out of a piece of wood and fire Dust. "Barracks, some armory crates, and maps?" Weiss said.

"This is mostly used as a stepping stone to get to other bases," Ilia said. "There's a unique map for how to get every White Fang base they had. Even the ones in the main kingdoms are marked on the wall there."

Weiss looked at the wall. "There's Mountain Glenn," she said, remembering Team RWBY's mission there. "Some near Vale… Some in Mistral of course… Even Vacuo… and Atlas. The ones in Atlas are crossed out."

"Do you think they're out of use?" Blake asked.

"It makes sense," Weiss said. "After Beacon fell, Ironwood went after the White Fang. News stations relayed what was in every base. The names all look familiar, except… This one."

"What's that?" Ilia asked.

"It's labeled Power Street with a question mark after. It's not crossed out."

"Maybe they moved there after Ironwood forced them out of other places?" Blake asked.

"No," Ilia said. "That was there before the other bases were raided. Do you recognize the handwriting, Blake?"

"That's not…" the cat stumbled through her words.

"It is. It's Adam's. He wanted to establish a base there. The question mark is if he would ever be able to do it. Except, that street isn't named Power Street."

"That's the Schnee Manor's street! I lived there. He even dotted my old home." Weiss said.

"Bingo," Ilia said. "And he never got his wish. There's another mark on the eastern coast. I believe it's where they're holed up."

"We should tell Ironwood, then," Weiss said. She took pictures of the base and messaged Ironwood with context.

Weiss turned to her left. "Is that… the Atlesian symbol on those crates?"

"It appears so," Ilia said. "That's where the White Fang stole most of its weapons from."

Weiss opened the crate. Blake came up to her and asked, "You don't think that's to do with Watts, do you?" The lid came off, revealing several magazines loaded with ammunition.

Weiss picked up one and released a bullet from the top. "Yes, yes I do," she said. She held one of the broken bullets from past Grimm and compared it to the intact ones. "They're identical." She sifted through the crate. "These are all tech bullets." Ilia was caught up on what that meant.

They reorganized the crate and left the base how they found it. When they returned to the open air, Weiss received a call. "Hello, General Ironwood. I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"Hello, Miss Schnee. I reviewed what you sent me and have already authorized a search of what it called the 'Power Street' mark. I don't expect much to arise from it, but it should look similar to what you saw."

"Thank you, sir."

"In addition, the ammunition you showed was also salvaged and reused from other militant camps, but it appears we never examined them. I have to say, they look almost normal from the outside."

As Blake and Ilia continued walking home, Weiss stopped and looked at the ground. "Are you certain, General?" she asked.

"Yes."

"I believe that means your border control has been shooting Grimm with something that allows to target me and who knows whom else."

"Weiss..." Ironwood's voice conveyed sorrow and self-resentment. "Do you care to explain?"

"The bullets we found today and you've been using were traced to WattsTech's circuitry. I believe Watts is working both with the White Fang and my father."

Ironwood skirted with his response. "I could see how you would think that…"

"General, Ruby's uncle… Qrow? He told me."

The ensuing silence lasted long enough for Weiss to question if the call was dropped. "Exactly how much did he tell you?" Ironwood said.

"He said Watts has control over the Grimm. He said he worked with Cinder and people named Tyrian, Hazel, and… Salem. And that they were responsible for Beacon."

"And you must then know what all of them mean?"

"Yes, sir."

"And do you still want to be a huntress after learning this?"

"Yes."

"Be aware that people have died for knowing those things."

"I understand, General. As far as I am concerned, my father has control over the Grimm too. There is something bigger happening, sure, but in the immediate future, my father can direct Grimm at me. He has done it three times already. Grimm only come seconds after he texts me, and they each have had a modified bullet inside them."

"And to think last time we spoke, you had no worries. I admire your courage. The world needs more people like you these days."

"Thank you. Qrow and Winter both mentioned something similar was brewing in Mistral when the warehouse fight happened. After that form of the White Fang collapsed and the new White Fang is mostly concentrating on Atlas, I wouldn't be surprised if backlash to our efforts causes an environment our enemies- my father, Watts, Cinder, et cetera- can work with."

"Point taken. Thank you, Weiss."

"Thank you for responding so fast, sir. And before I forget to say, thanks for letting commercial ships come and go. I've been needing to travel a lot recently. I recall border control being a hot debate months ago."

"It's no problem. It's less about not letting anyone travel than very specific people, but we cannot be too careful. In the end, the council decided, even with my two seats against it, to maintain the open policies."

* * *

The walk back took the three girls through the sunset. After returning to Blake's home, they set to rest. Weiss left for the guest room, and Ilia shared a bed with Blake.

"Ten weeks now?" Blake asked, looking down at Ilia's stomach.

"Just about at this point," Ilia said. "Blake?" She rested on the cat faunus' shoulder as they lay in bed. "Why did you say to keep it to myself if you also like girls?"

Blake's heavy breath forced Ilia's head up and down. "I suppose I wasn't here yet. I was uncomfortable then. And I kept thinking about how similar we are and how much I needed security."

"Can I really provide that though?" Ilia said.

"Why not?"

"You're always out. I'm never around."

"You're right, but… It's not like that. It's more of a mental thing."

Ilia shifted her arms around Blake. "I just wish next time you come back to Menagerie, it won't be with knowing you'll have to leave again- if you even make it back. Those bullets we found... All that stuff Weiss was talking about!"

"I promise I'll always come back," Blake said. "I'll always deal with Grimm, and the Albain brothers will always be after me at this point, but as I see it, I'll always be yours."

"Easy there," Ilia said. "You don't know what that means." She turned to lean over Blake and booped her nose in suggestion.

"Yes, I do," Blake said in the middle of a light laugh. "If I'm going to be away so much, I'll make up for it and be all yours right now."

"Don't you tease me like that."

"It's not a tease. It's a fact."

"Then start acting like it."

As Ilia looked down at Blake, the cat faunus accepted the challenge, pressing her lips up into the chameleon's before they collapsed into the bed together, continuing on.

* * *

The late night prompted a late morning. As Weiss came down for breakfast, everyone had already sat to eat.

"Good morning, dear. You're sure up late," Kali said.

"I suppose it was the first night I've been able to sleep in. I've had so many nights on a ship recently. I don't sleep well at sea," Weiss said. "Good morning, Kali, Blake, Ilia."

The four women ate light fish sandwiches for breakfast. "How is the White Fang going?" Ilia asked.

"It's going well," Weiss said. "The papers have said Schnee stock is steadily declining. It isn't catastrophic, but it will impact my father. I'll check up on Flynt." Weiss began to dial Flynt's number, only to be interrupted by a call from him. "Flynt?" Weiss opened. "I was about to call, but I figured I would wake you up."

"That's just it, Schnee," he said slowly. "The workday just started. People are clocking in for work, but not over at the SDC mines."

"What are you telling me, Flynt?"

"People in the White Fang decided to strike today despite the board continually voting against it. It's a sit-in."

Weiss gave the same groan as Ironwood did when he learned Qrow didn't keep his mouth shut. "Are you going to end it?"

"I think I heard you say the militant White Fang were very prideful at one of our meetings. These people are quite the same. They're physically closing off the mines and no labor can be done. They're not moving for anybody, the board included."

"What did the SDC do about it?"

"It's a standoff between supervisors and faunus labor, and it's caught a lot of traction already. General Ironwood wouldn't help your father- brother, I suppose- though. This is going to last quite a few days by the looks, Schnee."

"I should be able to make it there in time. Let me know if anything escalates."

"Aye. Safe travels."

"Goodbye." Weiss slapped her forehead so hard that Blake hurried to open the door and check for her safety.

Weiss both laughed and sighed inwardly, saying, "We're going back to Atlas already. Stragglers in the White Fang are striking."

"Hear that Ilia?" Blake said, her head turned, face apologetic. "I'll always come back."


	18. When You Want Something Done Right

**-Chapter 18: When You Want Something Done Right-**

"Miss Schnee?" Ironwood called the former heiress in response to the strike as she and Blake traveled to Mistral on interkingdom waters. Their connecting trip to Atlas would leave later in the day.

"Hello, General Ironwood," she said, worried about his reason for contact.

"I am prompted to ask you one question."

Weiss sighed. "Go ahead."

"Does the White Fang charge union dues or any other sort of membership fee?"

"No, sir. As of yet, I and some friends are financing it. Is this related to the strike?" The money was running out, however. The bounty on militant faunus only got Weiss so far, but Ghira and Winter pitched in slightly.

"It is everything to do with it. Because you cannot qualify as a union, a loophole has opened for you. Atlas military is not _required_ by any means to break the strike. I will stand by that. However, I have no jurisdiction over vigilantes."

"The dissenting Atlesian public," Weiss thought out loud. "I don't believe anyone would escalate it too badly."

"Just to be sure they won't," Ironwood said, "I have stationed men and women, no androids, alongside the strikers to prevent anything from breaking out. When you arrive, do control your organization."

"I promise, sir. Take care."

"Take care."

After Weiss pocketed her scroll, Blake asked, "How is the strike going?"

"Ironwood is helping us, but anything can happen."

"Androids weren't much a help last time," Blake said.

Weiss rolled her eyes with laughter and concern from the incident Blake referred to. So many people continued to misconstrue what happened in Beacon's collapse. "Right, so it's strictly humans now."

Blake received a call from Ilia. "Just finished searching through the militant camps here."

"How did they turn out _?_ "

"No guards in any of them. Or guns or ammo. For all I know, no militants are even on this island besides Zoran. They packed up and left."

"It's best to assume some are there for safety. Please, stay safe."

"I should be telling you that."

As they sat in their lodging, the Mistralian shoreline crept into view.

* * *

"Can you believe it?" Jacques yelled, sitting hunched over at his desk with Whitley and Watts. He nearly slammed his scroll onto the wood after ending a call with the General. "Ironwood's bending the rules on us. He's not doing anything about the _savages_ at our best mine."

"To think even I wouldn't have stooped so low as to call sister that a few months ago," Whitley said. "It's a wonder how much you can learn about someone even without seeing them. I suppose it doesn't take much to see the fruits of her labor. She has not stopped."

"By the time Weiss is done with her games, there wouldn't be an SDC left for her to rule!" Jacques said.

"It isn't like Atlas is tough on gun rights," Watts said. "Anyone could start something over there. All it takes is a few well-meaning bystanders."

"Surely there is a way _we_ can respond to this ourselves," Whitley said.

"I always get other people to do my work for me," Watts said. "That _is_ how we got here, isn't it Jacques?"

Amidst a laugh, Jacques said, "Delegate to profligate, as they say. If I had a nickel for everyone's back I broke, I'd be as rich as you!" The three monopolists roared, causing a worried face on Klein as he took post outside the study's door.

"You overestimate me." As Watts quieted, he continued, "But yes, I do have a way we can respond to the strike. A good friend of mine knows some forces who may be just as disgusted with these so-called peaceful protesters as you are."

* * *

While waiting for the Atlesian ship to arrive in Mistral, Weiss answered another call from Flynt. "Exactly how far away are you?" he asked.

"About to board a ship in Mistral. How bad are things getting?"

"I'm off to the side. Quite a few faunus are here. Not the new White Fang kind. The old kind, but they're not in uniform. They're really looking to start something, but they're acting like there's a plan too. I don't think this standoff will last."

"Are we talking riots, Flynt? I don't think Atlas can take it. The Grimm it could cause, I mean."

"We might be talking about that, Schnee. It can't be the Beacon level because it's sort of apples to oranges, but my worrying only makes it worse."

"I'll bring some friends." Weiss reached out to her Mistral contacts. Everyone from Teams RWBY, RNJR, and SSSN came to the docks.

Most of them boarded the ship, but as Weiss and Blake walked on, paparazzi flooded the pier. They were unable to reach the duo, but they filled the air with sounds of questions, floor creaks, and camera shutters. "This is the hottest story in the world!" "Why is a daughter striking her own family business?" "It's gonna get bloody." "More like coldest-of-them-all."

"Say nothing," Weiss said to Blake. The two turned the other cheek and settled into two more days on the seas.

"I've never been to Atlas before," Ruby said. "It's getting chillier every second. I can see the cliffs!"

"Ruby, we aren't here to sightsee," Weiss said. "I'm sorry, but we're trying to stop the strike, not escalate it for the sake of battle."

Weiss' scroll vibrated, and though she opened it, it would not stop. There was no sign of a notification, however- no new calls or messages. The boat rocked.

Even quicker than the boat came a giant frog Grimm, webbed to live underwater. Silence stopped as sirens switched on, but it did not stop people from panicking at the sight of another Grimm. A squid-based demon followed suit, sensing the negativity even from depths no light could penetrate. Lagging, a sphere of spikes ripped away at the ocean's surface; an urchin Grimm barreled toward the boat. "Father…" Weiss said.

Any one of them was sizable to take down the boat alone. Together, they pressured the captain to speak via intercom. "This is your captain speaking. Stay indoors if you can. This is an emergency. I repeat, stay indoors. We have defeated Grimm on voyages before, but we must go full speed ahead with Atlas now in reach!"

"The thing about taking a ship to Atlas, Ruby," Weiss yelled through the wind, "is that Atlas doesn't have real docks. The kingdom is on a high plateau, so there's no coastline, no beaches, no docks." As she spoke, the ship transformed. Sails released in many directions, and new engines spun up, beckoning the ship to the skies while remaining level. "All Atlesian ships must also be airships."

The urchin was unable to jump, dependent solely on rolling with the surface it could attach to. The frog broke from the water and used its hands to stick to the ship's hull. Wind, velocity, and mounted machine guns forced it back into the water. The squid, using its streamlined armor, zipped through the ocean and came out high enough for tentacles to reach the hull as well. Shortly after it grabbed, the captain countered by pointing an engine into its open mouth, sending it crashing onto the surface tension. It did not disintegrate. The urchin tore sliced through the waves, and the squid and frog impacted them, disrupting the currents they took for granted.

The newly transformed airship soared over the low cliffs, too high for the giant Grimm to reach. It entered kingdom limits. The Grimm did not stop when the ship passed the border. The spiky urchin sped up on land and tore up the mountainside, causing an avalanche to build under it as it broke through the line of turrets Ironwood called for. Ursai and beowolves that camped in wait from the turrets rushed through the broken defenses. They chased the ship up the cliffside.

The teams rushed to the ship's stern and fired their weapons off the end, not killing enough to end the overwhelming pack. "I'm not sure fighting at a strike is what Atlas needs to worry about right now," Sun said.

"I guess this is one way to end a strike," Yang said. The urchin Grimm led the charge, deflecting bullets as it rolled.

"We will be landing shortly," said the intercom. "Please prepare for the shift of any items and furniture in your room."

The captain slowed the ship to prepare for descent, leading them into a large lake. Grimm flooded from the edge into the water and around, leading into the main city as the teams waited to be of help and for the ship to dock. The city's alarms rang in unison, and a voice said, "ONYX ALERT: INCOMING GRIMM THREAT. LEVEL EIGHT."

From its place in the sky, the Schnee helicopter retreated to safety. After this reinforced the dots Weiss connected in her head, she took out her scroll and sent her father a text. " _Which is more important to you, your success or civilization?"_


	19. Do It Yourself

**-Chapter 19: Do It Yourself-**

The ship's gangway allowed Weiss and her companions to fight the breached Grimm. After exiting, Weiss faced the group and said, "Thank you so much for coming. I would have loved your help with the SDC strike, but Atlas needs you to help take care of the Grimm. Blake and I have business on the northeast side."

"No," Yang said.

Weiss looked to the city and back at Yang. "No to what?" she asked.

"I've lived this too many times," Yang said, eyes forward. "Team RWBY is not splitting up again- not at another kingdom breach- and you'll need help with the terrorists."

There could be no solid rebuttal, so Ruby turned to her unofficial team. "You and SSSN should be fine," she said. "I promise we'll catch up later."

Nora wouldn't take the words without a group hug, and so it happened. The friends met with Team FNKI and began to take down several Grimm.

On the way northeast, Team RWBY brushed up on their team attacks. The vast sprawl of streets was mostly silent, residents taking shelter from the breach. Guns were heard far ahead and behind the team as they punched, swung, and otherwise flung their way across town. General Ironwood's fleet hovered over the SDC mine entrance, a courtyard packed with bodies now living and dead. Many of the dead wore Atlesian armor.

"Winter!" Weiss exclaimed as a white blur chained its way through faunus militants. Corsac, Fennec, and the Lieutenant remained present as smoke erupted from cars and even the mine shaft. Team RWBY stood at the edge of the scene. "I hope that's all they set up. Ruby, do you remember Fennec?"

"With the Dust claws? Of course."

"Those have more range than they look. I'll keep my distance until I can throw him off. The Lieutenant doesn't work well at a range either, and his weapon is heavy. We'll need speed with him." Ruby's eyes lit up for her time to shine. "Exactly, Ruby. He's yours. I don't think I've seen Corsac fight though."

"I have," Blake said. "Look, he's using two katanas. They aren't also guns, so it shouldn't be difficult."

"Ruby," Weiss said, "the big guy is yours. I'll help Winter with Fennec. Blake and Yang, watch out for stray fire. Does anyone need Dust?"

After the three declined, Team RWBY leapt from the side of the courtyard. Weiss interfered with Winter and Fennec, placing a glyph in front of the fox's lunge. "Winter," she said, "if you summon enough nevermores, they could intercept his slices."

"Good idea, sister. I'm glad to see you safe," the eldest sibling said.

"So far," Weiss said, and she distracted Fennec with her presence. Winter fixed her rapier to the ground and summoned a swarming flock of small, white nevermores.

"Time for a family reunion?" Fennec asked in condescension. "Converging only makes for an easy target."

"Says the guy who did that to stage a failed coup," Weiss rebutted. "I despise my father as much as you, but I don't believe you know what you're in for."

Weiss spun her Dust chamber to ice. " _With his ranged attack rendered obsolete,_ " she thought, " _all he has left are fancy gloves._ "

After narrowing his brow, Fennec sliced the air. White nevermores divebombed his attack and exploded on impact. Weiss felt the explosion and blew back a foot as Winter flew between militant grunts. Weiss shot ice Dust at Fennec's hands. He reacted by shooting Dust, but the ice encased the effects into his hands, damaging him before breaking off.

Winter said, "Enough of this," and tightened the swarm of nevermores around Fennec, exploding as they encased him. His yellow Aura sheen cracked open, and he was sent downward. Weiss stood over the new crater he created in the ground with his hands outstretched.

She set a glyph on each of his arms and legs, preventing him from gaining any leverage. "The world I'm fighting for leaves no faunus spiraling into madness," she said. "But I know that's not how you see yourself."

"Quit the theatrics," Fennec said. "There's no room for a Schnee, certainly not a moral platitude coming from one."

As if agreeing to quit the theatrics, Weiss shrugged slightly and shifted her rapier to fire Dust. She aimed the tip at his forehead and pulled her trigger. He only screamed for half a second before it turned to a dry, throaty gargle and finally nothing.

The glyphs vanished. Weiss closed her eyes and exhaled deeply before turning to her sister. "Thank you, Winter. Atlas could use you at the border, no? I still have business here."

"Correct. I believed Hazel would reappear here, but he has yet to do so since last we saw each other. The situation is nearly contained, so he is unlikely as ever. You and I will reconvene."

"Yes, we will," Weiss said. After a short hug, Winter left to help contain the Grimm threat.

Blake and Yang adeptly evaded Corsac as he countered with his standard red katanas. The leaders of the old White Fang relied on stealth tactics and getting in close, so the lack of ranged attacks only put them at a loss now.

Blake flailed Gambol Shroud, letting it weave through the scene until stopping to be pulled back around a katana. With one of Corsac's hands caught, Yang jumped in to punch the older brother in his face. The impact forced the katana out of his hand, and it fell down the open mine shaft.

Ruby was regretting the decision to take on the large chainsaw wielder by herself. She could only use her speed so much since it depleted her Aura every time. She did enjoy zipping through his legs so that he would chainsaw himself there, though.

The Lieutenant grabbed Ruby out of the air and slammed her near the mineshaft. The chainsaw revved, and Weiss set a glyph on top of Ruby. She shifted her rapier back to ice and called out "Freezer burn." Yang waited for the ground to be covered before slamming her fist to the ice.

The Lieutenant looked away from Ruby when he heard Yang's impact, only to return his gaze and find he could not see anything, let alone Ruby where she used to be. Ruby shifted from the ground to behind the man, and as he turned to her, she used her Semblance to push both of them into the mine and spring back out.

"Can he escape?" Weiss asked Ruby.

"I don't know. It's pretty dark down there," little Red replied, "and deep. It's too wide to chimney-climb. And smoke is still clogging the opening. Should we collapse the way out to make sure?"

Even in the peril they were facing, Weiss still thought of the mine as her future. Any damage she did to the company she would have to deal with as its head- a position she hoped to achieve soon. She looked around to get a feel for the fighting. Just like the old warehouse in Mistral, almost nobody was still fighting. No strikers were present, whether living or dead. She assumed they fled. Blake and Yang still fought Corsac. "Are there any other exits?" Ruby asked.

"No," Weiss said. "As much as I hate seeing my SDC suffer, you should collapse it. I want him out of the picture."

"Haven't you been doing that for months though, pushing it to a breaking point?" Ruby asked.

"My father's anger has a different breaking point than my company does, Ruby. Collapse it. It's not irreparable." Ruby obeyed, shooting the wall behind the pit and caving in boulders.

Despite his size, Corsac dodged with agility and timed against Blake's ribbon well. He still only had one katana. The intense mist from Weiss and Yang's combo attack had faded. The Grimm Threat sirens blared out a helicopter's noise while it swept through the area. Weiss only heard it when it became directly overhead, and she noticed the snowflake image on the underside of the rotors. No later than that came the roars of the Grimm that were trailing it.

The spiky urchin that tore through kingdom defense was the first to appear, followed by a few common species. Corsac saw the distraction and fled.

Even as the Schnee helicopter flew to the manor, Blake heard Corsac's steps. "He's getting away!" she said.

Weiss locked up. The persistent deniers of her good will would perish if she pursued him, but the city would be safer if she stayed to fight. All the while, her father grew more distant. "Blake, Yang, please interrogate and kill him! Ruby and I will stay to fight," she said, and they gave chase without question.

Ruby said, "I'd never thought I'd hear you give that order, Weiss."

"He's an enemy of the state on two continents and he's terrorized for months, Ruby."

The urchin acted like a pinball, bouncing between buildings and using rubble as ramps. It could turn but only below a certain speed, making it predictable.

"Ice flower," Ruby said. The team attack landed a powerful ice blow to the urchin, but it ultimately hit a spike and broke off on the ground. The spikes were armored, protecting the defenseless spherical center.

Weiss used a gravity glyph to lift herself out of its reach, and Ruby used her gun's recoil. It crashed into a courtyard wall and redirected itself. "It's a little shaky on the ricochets," Ruby said.

"How can we immobilize it?" Weiss asked.

After another rush, Weiss and Ruby dodged. "Maybe something besides flat buildings? It seems fine with those." Ruby stabbed a beowolf as she spoke.

As the urchin made another pass, grunts came from the mineshaft. Ruby's collapsed rubble didn't fill the hole; it seemed to give the Lieutenant a climbing structure instead of knocking him out as planned. He lifted an arm onto the surface.

"That's it!" Weiss said. "The mineshaft can trap it." Before the Lieutenant could stand up, Weiss and Ruby led the spiked menace into him, sending him flying into the rear wall and down the pit, which the urchin plugged.

Though the urchin could move its spikes, it couldn't bend them. The impact force lodged it tightly into the ground.

"Fire flower," Weiss called. Ruby switched her cartridge for fire Dust rounds, and Weiss propelled Ruby's shots through a gravity-accelerant glyph. The attack they used to slow enemies was modified to do actual damage to the urchin. Ruby kept firing at the exposed inner sphere until she saw the urchin evaporate.

Blake and Yang ran after Corsac through Atlas city streets. They weaved through parking structures, rooftops, and the open road. He was skilled at hiding in jungles, and Atlas came to be known as a concrete one.

"He's in that alley," Blake said.

When Yang entered it, she noticed how straight it was, and knew Corsac could and would climb the building at the opposite end. She stopped Blake from getting in front of her with her left arm, and raised her right, robotic fist in the air. "Stay back," Yang said. Two iron sights unfolded from her arm, and she took aim.

The cybernetic attachment dislodged before activating thrusters, which Yang controlled remotely. Corsac jumped onto a dumpster and reached for an overhang as Yang's open hand grabbed onto his skull and pushed it into the stone wall. He went limp and hit the ground face-down, his Aura having shattered.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Blake asked, now standing over his body. Yang reattached her arm and rolled Corsac over. The cold Atlesian air made the fox's breath visible. She opened his eyelid, and he became responsive.

"Grimm come into the city and it's your idea to continue fighting?" Blake asked as Yang pinned him.

After moments of heavy breathing, he said, "I'm not only in this for me, Blake."

"He knows you?" Yang said, taking a step back.

"It's been years since, Yang," the cat girl said. "Who else besides you and the ' _greater-good-of-the-faunus_ ' do I have to thank for your actions today?"

"When you're told there's a strike happening in a place on your hit list, you don't not go to it," said Corsac.

"Who told you?" Blake asked.

"I don't know his name," at that moment, Blake held her katana to his throat. "Nobody does! He only started working with us recently. Maybe you should ask _Adam_. He was his contact, not _ours_."

"Was he at the abandoned warehouse in Mistral that night?" Blake asked, having someone in mind. "Well?!" she pressed the katana inward.

After no response, she nodded to Yang for her to act. The blonde grabbed Corsac's sack. His usually bass-tone voice went into a falsetto higher than seemingly possible. " _YES!_ Ugghhhh," he said as Yang released her grip.

"Hazel eyes, would you say, Corsac?" Blake asked.

"You got me," he said, defeated. "Hazel. I always pegged it for a codename, though."

"Excuses," Blake murmured. "Why attack the group aimed at taking down the SDC? Isn't the enemy of the enemy your _friend_?"

"You know that cuts both ways, right?"

Blake groaned at his remark and slammed his head down. "Then it's certainly not on principle. What could Hazel bargain with to get you to attack us? It's not money, weapons, or Dust either." Blake shot an ursa coming up behind her without even turning to see it.

"No man seeks wealth purely. Money is but a stepping stone to greater things," Corsac said.

"A top-down type of power and influence at the cost of a kingdom breach," Blake deduced. "It's all business to you, isn't it?"

"That's none of _your_ business, isn't it?" Corsac's cocky mood got him another slam into pavement.

"It's not yours either anymore. It's very hard to kill an idea, but I think the hydra is at its limit. There are only so many heads to regrow and so many people dead. No faunus is left to cut a deal with Hazel."

"You have reconnected with Sister Ilia, correct?" he chanced.

"She's been off your radar for months. Nice try." Blake and Yang shared a glance. "That's as far as this can go," Blake said, and she cut the militant hydra's final head off. "Let's get back to Weiss and Ruby."

* * *

Weiss asked Ruby, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Nothing. The sirens stopped."

"I don't like trick questions," Ruby pouted.

Blake and Yang returned to the broken courtyard. "Are you both alright?" asked the cat girl.

"Yes, but I think I ran out my Aura today. Too much Semblance," Ruby said.

"I'm doing well so far," Weiss said. "Did you take care of Corsac?"

"He's dead," Yang said. "And he said Hazel from the warehouse had the militants attack here."

"Noted," Weiss said. "You three should go find our friends."

"Weiss, you're not leaving us," Ruby and Yang said.

"No… this isn't goodbye," Weiss said. "I promise. I have some… family matters I need to attend to- alone. I'm still well enough to fight if it comes down to it."

As she gave a group hug to her teammates, she looked up to see her old home sitting like a castle on a hill.

"I'll see you all soon."

"No, Weiss, you're not leaving us," Yang said. "We rooted out the White Fang and Torchwick in Vale as a team, and we've now defended two kingdoms together. Why do you keep proposing we split up when you always made sure everyone came to their teammates?"

"She has a point, Weiss," Blake said.

"I guess I finally understand how you felt back in Vale," Weiss told Blake. "Back when you left to fight Torchwick at the docks."

"Great," Ruby said, "so that means-"

"That I still can't shake the feeling it's family matters," the Schnee completed. "I get it, you all, but I don't really know how to say this. It's just… nuanced. Ruby, you still need to recover. Blake, they'll be at your throat just as much as mine. And Yang," Weiss paused, not having come up with a reason, "I'm sorry. I know how much we mean to you- we all mean to each other. Is there any way I could make it up?"

Yang compromised with, "Go where you need to. We're not leaving you. We're following you, but we won't go inside. If this really is so deeply rooted in family, get your sister involved too. She tears up the battlefield."

"I promise I will," she said.

"And if we see anything happen," Ruby started.

"You can't stop us from helping out," Blake finished.

"I won't… Ruby!" Weiss yelled. She pushed Ruby out of the way and stabbed a beowolf mid-lunge. The trip to the Schnee Manor had become mundane, and with the sirens off, being taken off guard was all too easy.

"What the heck is going on?" Ruby said, brushing off dirty cement.

"Shouldn't the sirens be blaring?" Yang asked.

"It's not the first time technology's failed us in a Grimm breach," Blake said.

"Don't remind me." Yang pinched her forehead.

"Speaking of technology," Ruby said, pointing to a bullet on the ground, "that came out of the beowolf.


	20. This Life Is Mine

**-Chapter 20: This Life Is Mine-**

"That's the house there," Weiss said. "I suppose 'house' doesn't fit it, but you understand. My bedroom is on the west side. I broke the window when I left. It may be fixed."

Team RWBY continued to walk, Ruby still fixated on the spot the beowolf evaporated from. "How many other Grimm do you think have those?"

"Who knows," Blake said. "We saw a whole crate of those bullets in Menagerie. It could be the only science experiment to ever go right on them."

"We're really going through with this," Yang told Weiss. "Your family, I mean."

"Yes, we are. I am at least," Weiss said.

"Is this the time and place…?"

"To ask that question?" Weiss interrupted. "No." Yang held her hands up in a what-do-you-want-me-to-say manner. "My father is responsible for more deaths than I can know. Mining accidents, 'earthquakes,' he'd say they were. Retaliation against militants and the public displays that followed. Dead parents with living children on the open water. I've seen these things."

"I'm sorry, Weiss." Yang said.

"It's okay. This isn't your battle you're fighting." Talking with Yang made Weiss remember to call Winter. "Hello, sister. Will you be able to make it to the Manor?"

"I can, but I'm at the southern coast. We're still fighting Grimm here and in other sectors."

"I've been fighting some too even after the sirens stopped. Is it known how that happened?"

"It was abruptly and without good reason. General Ironwood suspects foul play and is looking into it. I wish the best for you, but I am somewhat preoccupied. I'll see you soon, sister."

"Take care."

* * *

As Jacques stepped out of his helicopter, he said, "This day has gone horribly unexpected, Arthur," He looked over the side of his roof. Though some buildings caught fire along with his mine, the sirens stopped, and no Grimm could be seen.

"I'm sorry the Grimm following your daughter overseas were that large. Aquatic Grimm can be so unpredictable," the magnate said. "And it was your idea to send so many signals at once."

Klein left the cockpit, having not heard Arthur speak. Whitley trailed his father closely as the four walked inside. "The western mine is caved in," Jacques said. "No sign of Weiss, but I'd like to see the body."

"You don't think she's trapped in, do you, Father?" Whitley said, hands folded behind his back.

"As much as I hope she's down there with the rest of her animals," he replied, "being cut open on the streets somewhere would be much more convenient."

"Master Jacques, may I get you anything?" Klein said.

"I've been having the taste for merlot recently. That should be all," Jacques said. "And you, Arthur?"

"There's no use in drinking alone. I'll have one as well," he said. Klein fetched the request, and Watts turned to his colleague. "They don't come in fruity, prissy glasses as usual, I assume?"

"Only when Willow asks for them, but she is out in Mistral with a few business wives. At her rate, all the feminine chalices may be dirty anyway. You know how the wife is."

"I do," said Watts. "It's too bad how much the years have changed all of us, her especially."

"Her _and_ my daughters. Sure, Weiss has been nothing but damaging to our own family, but you wouldn't believe the attitude even Winter has had with me."

"Do tell. Isn't this her room?" Watts felt he recognized the door from Schnee visits prior.

"Oh, Weiss'? It was." Jacques opened Weiss' door, allowing a rush of cold air into the hallway. The men did not enter the room but looked at the bed left skewed toward the door, dressers lining walls they weren't supposed to be near, and the shattered window. "We haven't touched it since she left. I still don't know what to do with it. It has grown on me, though. I like the idea of leaving it as a monument to her stupidity."

"I knew I felt a draft," Watts said. "Is the window really how Weiss escaped?"

"We believe so," Jacques said.

"And two months later," Whitley butted in, "we still haven't been over to this side of the house enough to want it fixed."

Watts looked down at Whitley and said, "In the business, that's what we call 'a good problem to have.' You've learned a lot from your father." The young CEO nodded.

"Here you are, sirs," Klein said with a plate of two dark burgundy drinks.

"We can't very well have them here," Jacques said. "Where would you like to be served, Watts?"

"Such a great host as always," Watts said. "How about in the ballroom? There are never enough occasions to use that space." Jacques, Watts, and Whitley continued walking, leaving Klein behind to close the door.

* * *

After a little second-story work and platforming on glyphs, Weiss made it back into her former room through the window. " _This is all the exact same,_ " she thought, _" except the scroll I left is gone._ " Weiss knelt next to her bed and reached under, " _If that's the case, there should be some extra Dust lying around._ " She poked around and came across a crumpled paper. _"The script I wrote for that video, huh?"_ She looked for the scroll she left on her bed that day. " _I guess he got it then."_ She gave the paper a quick glance. _"This sounds so out of character for me, but oh well."_

Muffled voices came from the hallway.

The door opened. Weiss swung her head down and breathed as quiet as she could. "We haven't touched it since she left," she heard her father say. Weiss sat motionless on her hands and knees.

She heard Whitley, and after thinking, she realized the other voice was Arthur Watts. " _Of course, he's connected to all of this,_ " she thought.

"Here you are, sirs." Weiss smiled, remembering her true father figure.

"How about in the ballroom? There are never enough occasions to use that space."

"Master Whitley," Klein said, "please deliver these drinks to the ballroom. I must catch up on my daily routine."

The voices muffled as Jacques, Arthur, and Whitley continued walking. One echo of steps, which Weiss presumed to belong to Klein, walked the opposite direction after the door closed. She kept searching. She pulled a briefcase from her bed and opened it.

One of the metal guards on her rapier disconnected, allowing for the cylinder to come out be reloaded. There was no more fire Dust after Weiss filled Fennec's head with it. A few other chambers needed a top-off. The door opened again, eliciting a small gasp from Weiss. "Klein," she said, untensing.

From the Schnee grounds below, Ruby, Blake, and Yang grew worried at the sudden development. Weiss came to the window with her butler and said, "It's okay. He's a family friend." She turned to Klein and asked if what she heard was right. He affirmed. "They're going to the ballroom. It's on the north end of the house- the part with the largest windows and most columns, overlooking the kingdom's cliff. I'll be there too." She pointed to their left. "Please," she folded her hands, "stay out of it unless you really think I'm in danger."

"Is Winter on her way?" Yang asked.

"Yes, but it will take her some time," Weiss said. "Grimm are still breached even though the sirens are off. The system went down or something."

"And she doesn't want you to have the company as much as you do?" Ruby asked.

"She said she'll be here, Ruby. She's coming. Just get to the ballroom."

* * *

The ballroom was still set up from Jacques' retirement party. Jacques, Watts, and Whitley opted for the long, dividing table in the middle. The two gentlemen sat on opposite ends of it, Whitley at Jacques' side. With no Klein there to shut it, the door behind Jacques remained open.

"To Atlas," Watts proposed, holding up his drink. "For never being weak or dumb enough to succumb to the Grimm."

"To Atlas," Jacques repeated, and they drank.

"Hello, Jacques, Whitlian." Weiss entered from behind Jacques, Klein following her.

Jacques did a spit take, and said, as if to Watts, "This is stronger than I remember," but when his eyes refocused, Watts was gone without a trace.

The man turned and said, "What are you doing here, child?!"

"Using my formal name, apparently," Whitley said. "How damning."

"I've enjoyed forcing your hand these last few months. It's a shame simple morality can turn the energy market on its head." Weiss saw her teammates at the patio door.

"The faunus are being paid equally!" Jacques said, standing up and approaching her. "You sat in on those meetings. You know more than anyone."

"I also know they value intent over consequence, and you only intend on turning profit on their loss." Jacques grew near Weiss.

"Where is that faunus girl you said would help get back at me? Is she too scared to show her face? Did she see chaos and run?" Jacques said.

"I told her not to intervene. This isn't about the 'insurmountable-magic-of-friendship.' This is about settling the score."

"By destroying the same company you wish to save? Is that what your grandfather would want?"

Weiss countered, "He would be proud of me for saving it by myself. He was a saint, and _this_ is how you continue his legacy."

Whitley had not moved from his chair, but Jacques now stood over Weiss and slapped her. "Oww!" he said, hopping back in pain. Weiss had placed an antigravity glyph at her head, and Jacques' slap revered its path, hitting his face.

"Why are you hitting yourself?" Weiss teased.

"Bastard child!"

"You had black hair as a child. Don't say I'm the illegitimate one here."

"I grew the business enough to support a family. After all I've given you!"

"After all you've taken from me," Weiss cut in, "I finally have nothing left to lose."

"That is incorrect," Jacques challenged, becoming less heated at the thought of something snarky to say. "The people who say that still have their lives to gamble with. Are you ready to do that?"

Weiss remained steadfast and said, "It's what I've been doing."

"Klein," Jacques said, "bring me my lance."

The butler kept his posture straight and said, "No." Instead, he closed the door next to him.

"Fine, then! I have an insurance policy." Jacques turned back to the table and grabbed two snowflake-shaped ice sculptures that encased metal ornaments, both about a foot tall, that had been standing up. With Jacques' touch, the metal snowflakes inside released fire Dust, breaking and melting the ice and giving him two wind and fire blades.

What normally take shape of rings with a few spikes sticking out, Jacques had in snowflake form. Each tip of the snowflake was a spike with a different Dust chamber, giving his weapon just as much color as Weiss'.

"Just because you had a throne built for you, it doesn't mean you have an army," Weiss said, pacing slightly. "Atlas has one, but it's still fighting the Grimm, which I might actually argue to be _your_ army since I've been gone. I know how much you want me dead."

Whitley shouted, "Klein, can you make popcorn?"

Jacques said "Whitley, get your feet off the table." He turned his head back to his daughter. "Are we done talking?"

Weiss nodded. She propelled herself back and created a summoning glyph. "Don't give what you can't take," she said. The spectral armor appeared in a flash, and Weiss set it to remain still.

Weiss opened by creating a sphere of glyphs around her father. She jumped into the fray, but she missed the first hit on him and felt a burst that flew her out of the space and on her stomach. She never touched any of the glyphs. From what she saw, Jacques only stepped to the side.

She stood up. " _He's good at dodging, but what was that?_ " she thought. Testing the water, she aimed her rapier and shot ice at him. With a small burst of light, it was redirected and hit the ground far behind him. " _If it were his Aura, it would have hit him, but he stopped it a few feet early… A small, concussive burst of energy used for the same goal as Pyrrha used magnetism._ " "So, that's how you cheated assassins," Weiss said. "Dodging bullets is your Semblance."

Jacques held a snowflake from one of its six points and threw it like a disc. During its airtime, Dust shot out of a chamber to create a swirl of sharp stones as it spun. Weiss jumped onto a glyph, combined her rapier with her summon's sword, and flung the energy. Before it could reach her father's burst radius, she exploded it and used the glyph to jet her way into her stunned father's comfort zone. She used her rapier like a skewer, lifting him at his midsection by the force of electric Dust. He fell limp, though his Aura was fine.

"I don't feel safe fighting in here," Weiss said, standing over Jacques as his weapons lie beside him. "Not because of you, but because we fight while Grimm are still present in the streets. Are you going to give up before it costs us both?"

"No," Jacques said. He grabbed a snowflake as it sat, releasing ice Dust from one. It froze Weiss' feet in place, and he used the other arm to uppercut a blade into her chin. The ice at her feet caused Weiss to fall on her head rather than shoulders. As Jacques swung down at Weiss, she set a glyph above her, blocking and giving her time to shoot fire Dust at her feet.

She kicked up with her free feet, but Jacques predicted it and used his Semblance to throw her off. She backflipped, and Jacques hit her with the fire Dust's barrel. Weiss retreated and realized she left her armor to stand by. Jacques stood between her and the armor, so she took a fencing pose and spun her rapier. " _He can't defend against what he doesn't know,_ " she thought. While her father readied for her fake attack, the armor lunged and grabbed his neck, forcing him into his marble floor.

Jacques' red Aura shorted out. He rolled over and found Weiss standing over him with his weapons skewered on her rapier. "Turning me in isn't good enough for you?" Jacques said. "How could you kill your father?"

Whitley's feet were back on the table as he watched and said, "I'm sure the jail bond is _far_ too expensive for a _Schnee_ to pay."

"I wish it didn't have to come to this, Jacques." She flung her father's snowflake blades across the room. "You are responsible for everything here, so it's the least I should do for everyone's safety. Do you want to test me further?"

Winter finally arrived from the southern coast of Atlas. She rounded the corner outside the ballroom and greeted the rest of Team RWBY. "Does she need help?" Winter asked.

"No," Blake said. "She's handled it well so far. Your father is defenseless."

A low, gargling roar came over them. Weiss looked out the window to the patio, where her team stood in shock at the Grimm coming over the cliff. With each footstep, the ground shook. Jacques attempted to move, but he was too weak. Whitley froze in fear alone. The creature, a three-headed, four-legged, wingless hydra came over the hillside and jumped onto the Schnee Manor. Ruby, Blake, and Yang rushed to the doorway as it turned its heads over to them. Though not nearly as big as the dragon that fell Beacon, it was still too big to fit in the ballroom.

The building began to collapse under the hydra's weight. "I told you so," Weiss said choking up, abandoning her father and heading to the door. The roof cracked, sending marble chunks to the ground. As Weiss made it to the door, the glass shattered. "Klein, leave! Go through the front!" she said. The butler escaped and locked the door before Whitley could use it.

"Weiss, let's go. We have to get out of here!" said Ruby. Weiss created a giant overhead glyph to protect against the debris, but it broke under the immense falling weight. Her legs were trapped under a piece of marble. Her Aura didn't break. She watched as the forty-foot ceiling completely fell on her father and Whitley. Ruby, Blake, Yang, and Winter sat safely behind a broken pillar. The evening air surrounded Team RWBY as the hydra approached Weiss.

Weiss assessed her situation. She still had her weapon, but it didn't stand a chance. The energy armor shattered in the heap of debris. She was trapped, but she conceived no way her father or brother could be alive anymore. Her friends stood silently behind her having Beacon flashbacks as the hydra's middle head covered her in warm breath through the cold Atlesian altitude. If her friends did anything, one head would stay focused on Weiss. If she did anything, the monster would retaliate.

In all of this, Weiss arrived at the conclusion that she was going to die.

She breathed slowly, rested her head, and closed her eyes. To her, a goal was accomplished. Her father and brother were dead. Though she wasn't thinking straight, she was at peace.

The middle head that examined her became completely uninterested by the lack of negativity. With a grumble, its long neck moved the head to look at Team RWBY. Then came a groan from the scattered, shattered marble, which caused its body to completely turn as every head sifted the wreckage. The Grimm bit and threw marble heaps, which stacked rather high. Through closed eyes, Weiss heard Jacques' voice become increasingly loud in panic.

When she opened them, she saw her father screaming in anguish as he was tossed from one mouth to another, silenced by a large set of teeth. This was her chance. She lifted her rapier and cast the largest summoning glyph she ever made high in the air. " _What,_ " she thought, " _could be big enough to counter this monster?_ " Her friends went with it, not attracting attention as the Grimm played with its food. To Weiss, the only things that existed in that moment were her, the hydra, her rapier, and her glyph. She focused all her energy on the steps needed to get a summon right. Team RWBY watched a former enemy come to Weiss' side.

As quickly as the white whale Grimm formed, it fell from great height onto the hydra. It pushed the three heads into and around each other and into the body and ground.

"Ruby, don't do that!" Weiss said as Ruby took her scythe to one of the Grimm heads. "That's not how you kill these things. You'll only make it worse. Can somebody get me out of here?"

"How do you kill it then?" Ruby asked. Yang and Winter squatted and rolled the marble boulder off Weiss' legs.

"In all my reading, crushing and flames should do. We're already halfway there." Weiss focused on maintaining the summon. The wingless creature's middle head was stuck under its own body. Its two remaining heads began to move. "I have to hang back. Keep the heads away from me."

Blake struck first, swaying from her rope attached to a pillar and dropping a fire clone onto a neck. Yang stayed distant and fired ranged shots into eyes and mouths when she found openings. Ruby switched cartridges to fire ammunition and attracted attention. Winter fused her nevermore summons with fire Dust and sent them flying.

"I can't do much far away," Yang said. "But how do I get closer?"

"If we do Bumblebee, I could distract it," Blake said. Yang grabbed the gun end of Blake's ribbon and shot with her other hand, adding to her jump. Blake followed her into the air. After flinging Yang, Blake landed and shot at the head before Yang landed on it. It reacted by lifting its nose, and Yang's lack of balance slid her into its mouth. She held its mouth open with her cybernetic arm and shot into its mouth. Blake jumped on a pillar and threw her ribbon around Yang, lassoing her to safety as the Grimm headbutted the ground.

The hydra tried to move its feet. The summoned whale prevented any substantial motion, but the Grimm persisted. When the heads weren't attacking, they moved debris to help find footing. "We aren't getting anywhere," Blake said. She jumped away as one of the heads tried to jab her.

"What if the whale was fire too? Like Winter's birds?" Ruby suggested.

"I don't know how to work that," said Weiss.

Winter landed and said, "Stop doubting yourself. Right now is the perfect time to learn."

"It's not that. I feel if I do anything different, I'll lose hold on the whale. I'm running on fumes as it is. Can _you_ turn it to fire? If we share a Semblance, maybe it's possible."

"I will try." The eldest daughter ran up a pillar and jumped off, landing on the white whale. She opened a summoning glyph, swords and all, atop the beast. The hydra stomped the ground. Over and over, the platform Winter stood upon grew unstable. With every kick, a new piece of marble rolled from under the three-headed monster.

The swords of the summoning glyph jutted from the center, revealing a small, square shape. A blubbery sheen coated the whale, and Winter pressed a fire crystal into the glyph. The whale's body accepted the offering as it held still for the Atlesian Specialist. Like blood, the crystal melted and began to circulate throughout the whale until it turned completely red.

With one last kick, the hydra freed its third head and directed it toward Winter. She jammed her saber up through a fleshy spot of the upper jaw, exiting the top of the head. Though it did not die, the head flung Winter, with her saber, into the air. Winter flipped over and regained her perception before a controlled landing next to Weiss. Its heads now all free, the Grimm attempted to stand. "Shoot the whale before I lose it!" Weiss said through her mental strain.

Ruby, Blake, and Yang opened fire on Weiss' summon, promptly exploding it and sending the Grimm off its feet. The three necks reacted as whips and sent heads crashing sideways into jagged stone. Black smoke began to rise. The impact's shock and Weiss' drained Aura forced her on her knees, panting heavily.

"That was the weirdest feeling I've ever had, Winter," Weiss said. The sister tilted her head. "With the fire summon. It was like my energy was being hijacked."

"Your soul, even?" Winter asked, helping Weiss stand.

"Maybe."

"That's what Semblances are. Foreign influence while already drained would be exponentially tiresome on the body."

"Nice job holding out for so long, Ice Queen," Yang said. "You're the real MVP."

"Thanks, Yang," Weiss said in a half-appreciative tone.

"I apologize for my tardiness," Winter said. The sisters hugged. "You've made a fine huntress tonight. All of you. The world needs more people like you to answer the call."

"It's an honor to have fought alongside a professional," Blake said.

Weiss walked to where she last saw Whitley. A hand stuck out between rubble and the exit. She checked its pulse. "Winter?" she asked. "I believe you're next in line for the company."

"As my first order of business," Winter said playfully, "I hereby resign and grant you the status you deserve."

"Does this mean you won't go on adventures with us anymore?" Ruby asked.

"Don't say that, Ruby. I'll have some restructuring to do, but the CCT system is back up. I won't have to be in a specific place all the time to run it."

"Is it time we head out of here?" Blake asked.

"Please," Weiss said. They walked around outlying rubble and saw the city streets. Weiss turned her head to the collapsed mess and thought, " _You two practically killed yourselves. All I had to do was set it in motion._ "

Weiss texted Klein, " _It's safe to head back inside. The Grimm is dead. You're the only man of the family now._ "

" _Understood. I'm sorry you had to go through such trouble. It could have happened without the Grimm, but Jacques changed after you left. His denial only led to higher ambitions._ "

"Hello, Ilia," Blake said with her scroll to her ear. "Il-, de-, yes. We're fine. We're safe. Atlas is under control now. I can hear how worried you are. Please, calm down... Thanks for doing what you could on the island. It helped a lot... Yes, I promise... Slow down, Ilia. Breathe. Stress isn't healthy for you right now. Weiss got her SDC back, and nobody significant is left to carry the torch against us. I promise I'll be home soon, and we can... yes. And I you too. Goodbye."

* * *

Team SSSN and what was left of Team JNPR regrouped. "Okay, guys. That's gotta be all of them at this point," Jaune said. Military helicopters patrolled up and down streets for lone Grimm, occasionally shooting. The large fleet disappeared from the sky, no longer needed.

"On this side of the city at least," said Sun. "Now civilians can stop shooting down at the Grimm."

"Do you think Team RWBY is alright? I still haven't heard from them," said Neptune.

"After Winter left us to go over there? I think they're fine," said Nora. "They're probably on their way back to meet us, and OH GOSH THEY SCARED ME." In the middle of Nora's rambling, she looked past her friends to see Team RWBY and Winter walk up.

"Ladies," Neptune said, turning around. "How did everything go?"

"Any militant faunus that held high standing is now dead," Weiss said. "Them and my father and brother."

"What about the strikers?" Sun asked.

"I'm not sure. There was no sign of them when I got there," said Weiss.

"That's because most of them are dead," said a voice in the distance. A large ram faunus, an older yet muscular woman, got up from talking to friends of her species. "My name is Dynia. I work in those mines. Some genius had the idea to leave the lift a hundred feet down. Most of the crew were just forced into the open shaft. Shoved. Like cattle. I left right then and there. I'm not a fighter."

"I assume you knew most of them? The miners?" Weiss said. She pursed her lips. "I'm sorry. What happened today was completely the result of a feud with my father."

"It's not healthy to blame yourself," Dynia said. "Take it easy. If it means anything, I heard you earlier. I'm glad you're left to be the leader." Weiss noticed her White Fang pin.

"Take care, Dynia," said Weiss. "I hope we can restore the mines and get you back to work."

"Geez, you'd think the terrorists would have at least sided with other faunus before the Schnee Dust Company," Ruby said.

"Whoever Hazel is," Yang said, "he got them to do it. Corsac said that, but it is a twisted enemy-of-my-enemy kind of thing when you think about it."

"Has anyone seen Hazel or Watts?" Jaune asked.

"Hazel, no, but I heard Watts when I was inside. He wasn't anywhere to be seen, though," Weiss said. She sighed. "I hate seeing my kingdom like this. First it was Beacon, now this. At least this was completely contained. We're never going to get the chance to take it easy, just live our lives. Soon, I'll be neck deep in paperwork."

"We did sign up for this," Ruby said. "I'm glad I did."

"When this all blows over," Blake said, "how about you all come to Menagerie? The eleven of us- my house is big enough. Menagerie's always warm, plenty of beach space, campfires are always happening. RNJR, SSSN, Yang, you're all off to Mistral, Weiss is staying here, I live there. Let's do that, like you said, Weiss. Whenever we get the chance, let's all come together and let's just live."


	21. Epilogue- New Lives

"Stay calm, Ilia," Kali said. "Just focus on that one spot. Focus and push."

"Believe me, I'm trying," Ilia said between winces.

"Nurse Ginger, does it look okay to you?" Kali stood right next to the nurse, watching the events unfold in front of them. Ginger's face mask completely covered her toucan beak, and her curly dirty blonde hair nearly covered her face.

"Well, it certainly won't be crowning. Do you know the sex yet, or is that still a surprise?"

"It's a surprise," Ilia said.

"Blake, are you sure you don't want to come over here and see it?" her mother asked.

"Yes, Mom," Blake said, somehow leaning back and standing on her toes at the same time. "I'm at her _side_ , and it's _still_ too much. I'm not going down there." She held onto Ilia's left hand as the chameleon squeezed.

"And you, honey?" Kali asked. Ghira sat behind Ilia in the corner of the room. He kicked his cat feet and gave a scared laugh at the thought of being closer than he was.

"The baby is breeching," Nurse Ginger said. "Both feet are out."

"Well, no faunus trait yet," Kali said. "Sorry, honey, it doesn't have your paws."

"That's a shame," Ghira joked.

Ginger reached forward and said, "And it looks liiiike… just as I suspected. It's a baby boy. Keep working. We're almost there. It only gets easier."

"Really?" Kali said practically in Ginger's ear.

Ginger mouthed the words, "Heck, no. The head and shoulders still have to come out," but a sheet covered the words from Ilia. "He's really starting to vocalize," Ginger said. "If only we could get that big head out."

"I'm only getting split in half, no big deal," Ilia said.

"See, you're joking when you say that…" Blake said. A confused, frightened look popped onto Ilia's face. "I'm just kidding!"

"I'm already on a rollercoaster. You don't have to do that," Ilia whined.

"It _was_ pretty disgusting. I'm sorry." It didn't stop Blake from laughing inwardly.

"Aaand the nipples are here," Kali said. Ilia screamed. "Ooh, make that the shoulders."

"Ilia, you're doing great, darling," Ginger said. More and more of the child came out, but there was still no sign of a faunus trait. "You're so strong. I hear you helped root out the terrorists on the island before Atlas happened. What Dust do you like to use?"

"ElectRIC, AAAGHH." The mental probe worked in favor as Ginger maneuvered the rest of the baby boy out. Ilia caught her breath, and slimy goop followed behind the baby.

"And that's it!" Ginger said, her voice barely audible over the crying and screaming. "He sounds pretty healthy to me!"

Kali put her hand over her smile and began to tear up. As Ginger lifted the red-haired baby into Ilia's arm, both her and Blake's mouths fell open.

"He's you, Blake," Ilia said. "Look, they're perfect." The two pressed foreheads together and shared a watery-eyed kiss.

"What's his name?" Ginger asked.

"Hello, Weiss. You're here early," Kali said. Weiss hugged the two cat-eared Faunus she'd come to know. "Everyone from Mistral is still at sea. And you must be Klein."

"Yes. Hello, Mrs. Belladonna. I'm here for the business part of her trip. It's nice to meet you." The two shook hands.

"Please, both of you. Come in, come in." Kali said as Klein tailed her and Weiss went off with Blake. "Are you all prepared for tomorrow, Klein?"

"Yes, of course. I'm proud of what we've pulled off with the Menagerian mine. For once, you can really see how the business bolsters local economy."

"And I heard you flew Weiss here personally? I'm glad she's always had you there for her. That was one of the biggest things when she first arrived."

Blake led Weiss through the house. As Weiss held onto a railing, she said, "It's been so long since I've been here. I already never want to leave."

"Seven months?" Blake asked herself. "Nobody else is here yet, but there is somebody I'd like you to meet." She opened the door to the guest room.

"Hello, Weiss," Ilia said, sitting up in the bed, arms folded under a child.

"Oh my gosh, you're kidding," Weiss said. "I'm so happy for you both. Why didn't you tell me?"

Blake smiled and said, "Surprise."

"Ssssshhhhh, he's sleeping. Meet Kieran Amitola," said the young mother. "He's two weeks old, and despite where he came from, he's a bundle of everything that can possibly be right with the world."

Weiss was about to walk up to him when she noticed his faunus trait. "Hold the door. Hold the door," she said. She physically went to hold the door for a second before saying, "Of all the possibilities, he has _his mommy's kitty ears_?" Though they were the color of Ilia's reddish brown hair, Kieran's cat ears twitched just the same as Blake's.

"Yep," Blake said. "Genetics meant he could have been anything. Could've had a tail, tusks, wings even, but here he is. He'll feel at home in this house with that trait."

"And I'm sure," Weiss began, "after so long of thinking of the troubles he'd face in his upbringing, it all just-" everyone said 'vanished' at the same time.

"He'll want to know who his father is," Ilia said. "But at the same time, he'll know where he belongs."

"I'm sorry, Blake, but his ears are cuter than yours," Weiss said. "As a matter of fact, it's just not a contest."

"To think that he's a boy and looks _so much_ like Adam, yet somehow, I don't care," Ilia said. "Kieran's red hair… I wracked my brain for nine months wondering how much of my life is mine and how much of himself he would have to come to terms with to be happy. I know I never stopped needing to change to fit my world. My father was a bat faunus and my mother had a rat tail. Of course, I got neither side, and all my friends were born to same-animal parents. I'd see _them_ together, and I'd always swear _mine_ weren't my real parents. It's a baseless worry now, but you know how much life is different as a kid- feeling like you were wise only if you were defiant."

Weiss shook her head affirmatively throughout Ilia's words, realizing how much she shared with the teenage parent. Their orientation in the room reminded her of when she met Ilia for the first time on the open water, back when Ilia's defiance would eventually cost her her autonomy. Ilia was on the bed as Weiss and Blake stood at the foot and pretended Sun wasn't there, though this time they would not have to. Weiss compared these two moments and gave the mother a short embrace before looking at her child. Kieran opened his eyes, but he didn't become conscious of Weiss staring him in the face. "Oooh, hello there… His eyes are a strangely vibrant purple," she said and looked into Ilia's to compare.

"Mine are purple too, but nowhere near his," Ilia said. "Adam's were this crazy teal. You'd never know with his mask on so often. Ki got the best of both worlds there- my color, his brightness."

The house vibrated a low hum. "They're here," Blake said.

"I'll go let them in," Weiss said, almost having closed the door behind her. "I'm so happy for you two."

"Do you want to come down, Ilia? I'm sure they'd love to see you."

"I can't with my baby to watch," Ilia said. With that, Kieran decided it would be a good time to kick and scream. "Oh, hush, you." She put him over her shoulder and began to rock sideways.

"Get my mom to do it."

"She _has_ tried to steal him away for solo time before."

"Thanks, but no thanks, Ruby," Weiss said. "The three of us are just going to sunbathe. I'll join you later though." Weiss and Ilia had beach towels, and Blake had a chair as they lay outside. While Weiss and Ilia had their backs to the sun, Blake took shelter under an umbrella for reading. The waves slid in and out repeatedly, easing everyone into the day's pace.

Ruby had trouble computing Weiss' logic. "You've never even been in this water. Isn't that the point of the beach?"

"If you're going to say it like that, the beach is the sand part. I'm using the beach well, and you're using the ocean." Ruby stuck her tongue out. "I said I'll be there soon." Ruby splashed away toward Yang, who swore her arm was waterproof.

Weiss' head plopped back down, but she kept her eyes open. Blake was now in her field of view. "What are you reading? … Blake?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. It's a slower one," Blake said, folding her book. "I've been getting into more of the epic melodrama genre recently. Not epic in terms of fighting at least in this one, but it's more about characters and journeys and time. This author understands how to juxtapose characters to their environments well. It's the best method to bring out a poetic understanding in my opinion." Blake's jutting eyes and minor hand motions indicated the nuance to Weiss even more than the words being said.

"If I were half the connoisseur you are, I'm sure I could appreciate what you just said."

"Don't you read often?"

"I stick to nonfiction. I'd rather learn about our world than escape into another one."

"I guess we all have our ways to cope," Blake said, burying her face in her book again.

"It's why I'm here," Weiss said. "I can't believe it took us seven months to get together. You wouldn't believe the level of paperwork my father made other people do. Then with all the reparation, everyone had to stay in Atlas for a couple weeks. Between the SDC and the White Fang, you know I had to get Flynt to fill my spot. At least that way it's still one human and one faunus at the lead."

"Of course, he's been a great partner for it," Blake said.

Weiss lifted her head and looked to the water. Yang brought a ball and started some made-up game of four-on-four knee deep. Neptune sat out and acted as referee on the shore, lifting his feet when the tide rolled in. "How many times do you think we crossed this beach before?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe eight?"

"And we never stopped by for a swim. It was always getting to Mistral, to Atlas, to the boat, to here. It's wonderful we get to lie in the sand for once."

"So how is the Menagerie mine doing?" Blake asked. "Isn't it a couple months old?"

"Yes. I directed them toward the cave-in we had. They've already found enough to get the mineshaft as far down as most others around the world. There's even still more people constructing it than digging it, which is rare this far into development."

"I've seen the prices. It's selling well in the market," Blake said, resting her head back and letting the wind take her hair.

Weiss propped herself on her elbow and said, "I've gotten pictures from White Fang contacts telling me how much it's gone down locally for them- record lows some places. To think that the mine saved the company from going bankrupt. And of course, it's expanded Menagerie with a few mining towns. Have you been out there?"

"A couple times for defense missions, but it's a very different culture. I'll go back when the soil is better for farming and their diet is less dependent on vultures and whatnot. The heat I can stand."

"Aren't Auroch and Sandy out there with their cattle?"

"They only have so much."

The teams- RNJR vs. SSSY- took a break after Yang led her team to victory. "Weiss!" Ruby whined, grabbing the girl's arm. "Get your butt over here. Jaune isn't cut out for this game."

Weiss yanked her hand free. "I'll come on my own power. You don't have to coerce me." She got up and headed to the water.

Sun approached Blake in her shade. "Hey, Blake," he said. She put her book down. "Can we talk privately…?" They looked at Ilia, who fell asleep on her beach towel.

"I guess she's been woken up a lot lately.. We should probably turn her over for her skin's sake," Blake said. "Shoot."

"I just wanted to let you know I… heard about the kid, and… wanted to say I'm happy for you."Blake looked down and exhaled a laugh, having been the one to announce it to the group. She stood up and hugged him. "Thank you. It means a lot." They broke off. "I liked our semi-romantic fun, but I never could get on your mindset. You're a great guy, but there's a girl out there not too trapped in herself to appreciate you before you're gone."

"Kieran…" Sun said. He held his hand behind his neck and talked at the sky. "When you think about it, it sounds perfect for a Menagerie child. Ghira, Kali, Ilia, Kieran. The same sounds are in all four of those names."

"I guess you're right. Don't dwell on this, Sun. We still have the whole night to relax and enjoy coming together for once." Sun rejoined the pick-up game, and Blake sat down to read. " _Since when did he become so observant?_ " she thought.

The sun set, letting Sun and Blake own the pickup game with their night vision. Ren borrowed the Belladonna grill and cooked everyone fish. Further and further into the night, they traded meals for snacks as Blake passed around skewers and marshmallows.

"Thanks, Yang," Nora said. "It was getting way too cold out here." Yang started a campfire with her Semblance, shielding the group from the night's heavy oceanfront winds.

"Are we going to tell ghost stories or something?" Jaune asked.

Nora stood up, the fire now lighting her face from below, and said, "So, there we were in the _middle_ of the _forest._ "

"It was the desert," Ren corrected."Surrounded by thin cave systems."

"That part is actually true."

"A swarm of King Taijitu came down from the treetops."

"Creeps, and from below us."

"But in the end, Team RNJR and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling fine crystals of Dust."

"Again, true," Ren said.

Neptune's marshmallow melted and fell into the fire after he was too scared to pay attention. "That's some freaky stuff," he said.

"Don't you mean… 'Creepy'!?" Yang joked. Nora threw a fresh marshmallow at Yang's face, and her Semblance melted it before it hit the ground.

"If you ask me," Sun said, "Ren's version was better."

"For starters, it was true," Weiss said. "RNJR followed me to the outback here and we came out with some Dust."

"No kidding."

"The real horror story is the grind we're all gonna be in soon," Jaune said.

"I told you to stop thinking of it that way," Ruby said, hitting his cheek with a torched marshmallow. "There are more Vale missions popping up every day. It's really starting to come together at Beacon. Team CFVY is there too. We gotta head back."

"Ghost story or true story," Weiss said, "there's so much to say about everything we've all done since we left Beacon. The more we come together for nights like this to tell them, the more stories we can create from doing so. Ruby, I can't wait to hear how it goes. Say hi to Zwei for me. These are the kind of nights I signed up for- that no matter what may be going on around us, we're better prepared because we know what everyone else has been through. These will have us fighting better too."

Weiss put on another marshmallow and began roasting. She continued, "We came out on the other side of people's greed, arrogance, and ambition. Sure, the militants will never be what they used to be with Adam and the rest gone, but Watts, Hazel, Cinder, and Tyrian are still out there. There hasn't been a sign of any of them since Atlas was in trouble. Our work is never over, but neither are we."

High tide rolled in, but it parted around the campfire gathering. Weiss lifted her treat from the fire and touched it with her friends'. "Cheers."

 **The Final Author's Note:**  
 **Statistics of I'm the White and You're the Fang:**  
 **60,000+ words (not including author's notes and openers)**  
 **587 average views per chapter, 61 favorites, 72 followers, and 56 reviews as of before the Epilogue was posted.**

 **Times a character's name is written:**

 **Weiss: 801**  
 **Blake: 652**  
 **Ilia: 375**  
 **Yang: 245**  
 **Jacques: 237**  
 **Ruby: 211**  
 **Sun: 135**  
 **Kali: 74**  
 **Ironwood: 71**  
 **Watts: 54**  
 **Whitley: 46**  
 **Chapter 1 posted on February 28, 2017. Epilogue posted on July 28, 2017. (exactly 5 months later)**

Portions of this were written after Volume 5 released.

Thank you so much for your continued readership. When I posted the first chapter, I didn't expect for people to think I was committed to the whole story. Weiss' farewell video was just an idea I had in passing thoughts, and I decided to upload it with open ends.

Special thanks to Emiliano733, Frisky Arctic Fox, NyanDiamond, SimplyRV, Anon User "Alex," and Celestia's Paladin for reviewing Chapter 1. They've been here since the beginning. They are what made me think "Huh, I actually could write more about this, and now I have people I don't want to disappoint."

Of course, thank you to everyone else who's reviewed for your words, especially if you said something you'd believe could be in the story given what you read. At the beginning, I was still scrapping for ideas to a degree. Even if your review was a short summary of the chapter you just read, thank you. You're still engaged enough to show me.

About halfway through writing this story, I ordered two RWBY Blind Box Figures from the RT Store. That's the one where you don't know which RWBY character, out of twelve, you will get a mini figure of. I hadn't bought any before. By some random, lucky chance, they happened to be Weiss and Blake. I can't look at them without thinking about this story.

When I was developing the story's plot, I realized that as a writer, this story was giving me a lot of experience compared to the other fanfics I've done (a few of which were one-offs I've since deleted from my page). I'm a lot prouder of myself for writing this, considering all the pieces I put in play than the other full story I wrote. It was a Hunger Games parody fic, a sort of "my version of the first book with my own set of characters." If you read through it, the sequence of events is basically the exact same as HG Book 1, even though I tried to deviate. In White and Fang, however, I had no prior work to model the story arc after, just the characters and universe. This was wholly organic for me, and I love how it turned out.

I knew that when Volume 5 and beyond were released, a lot of the assumptions and character traits I put in place are going to be disproven. I'm alright with that. I believe I fit what is known well into the story. I wanted to play with Ilia most of all and show how three dimensional I believed she is.

I can see what I predicted correctly and incorrectly. First, I thought Sienna would be male simply because men tend to be more militant. I was wrong about that. Second, I was correct that Yang could shoot her arm as a projectile. Third, I was correct that Ilia would have feelings for Blake. Fourth, I was correct that she would seek redemption and live to fully get it. Fourth, a Faunus named policeman occurred in Saber Rodentia, not Captain Ivory.

Part of this story was me wanting to expand the things I write about. I've never written anything about romance, so the Blake and Ilia part was my way of expanding that. I wanted to continue even further with that than what this story presents, so I wrote a single chapter sex scene for Blake and Ilia as a separate story that fits into this one. I have uploaded it already as "Catmeleon" if you are interested.

The whisperings of the romantic subplot began with Ilia being raped and even a little bit when she boarded Weiss, Blake, and Sun's voyage out of Menagerie. I realized how hard it was to write a violent sex scene without being so graphic about parts of the body or what Adam was exactly doing. I had to heavily revise that scene after the initial upload to get rid of confusion.

If anything, this story proved to me that I'm not a perfect writer. There are a few things I would have put in the beginning to foreshadow or begin subplots had I known where the story was going. If you asked me what was going to happen after I wrote Chapter 2, which some of you did, I'd say I had no idea. But I'm very proud of how it turned out given the circumstances.

I can't thank you enough for reading. I have no idea what other long story I'd write and post on this website. I'd have to get inspiration just like I did for this one. My inspiration always comes from "canon, except what if this happened instead?". Because I like canon and wanted to stay close to it, I wasn't comfortable with having a "good character" die. I only write when something speaks to me. I only wrote the first chapter because I was fantasizing about Weiss telling her father off. I don't actively search for things to write about.

I'm so proud of how this turned out. One last time, thank you for caring and being patient enough to read it.


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